Sources of Patients’ Expectations of Lumbar Surgery

Study Design. A cross-sectional, mixed methods analysis of sources of expectations of lumbar surgery. Objective. The aim of this study was to ascertain sources of expectations and compare them to clinical characteristics. Summary of Background Data. Understanding where patients obtain expectations of lumbar surgery is necessary in order to develop interventions to foster appropriate expectations. Methods. This was a qualitative-quantitative study of 428 patients interviewed preoperatively with a 20-item validated survey, which asks patients how much improvement they expect per item. Patients then were asked open-ended questions about how they came to have these expectations and, using qualitative analysis, responses were grouped into themes representing different sources of expectations. The likelihood of citing various sources was then assessed with odds ratios (ORs) based on demographic and clinical characteristics. Results. Patients’ mean age was 55 years, 80% had degenerative diagnoses and 24% had prior lumbar surgery. Patients volunteered multiple sources; most prevalent were current surgeon (83%), internet resources (55%), social network contacts (26%), other physicians (22%); and previous experience (65%) for the subgroup who had prior lumbar surgery. Patients were more likely to cite their surgeon if they had less disability [OR 2.8, confidence interval (CI) 1.3–5.8, P = 0.007], were treated with conservative care, such as physical therapy (OR 2....
Source: Spine - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH Source Type: research