Hopelessness Level and the Affecting Factors among Patients after Total Hip Arthroplasty

Abstract

Aim: Among patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty, problems such as experiencing pain in the postoperative period, the occurrence of complications due to immobilization, and the need for an assistive device may cause hopelessness. The patients may feel inadequate and unhappy. This study aimed to determine the hopelessness levels and affecting factors among patients who had undergone total hip arthroplasty. Methods: The descriptive study was carried out between May 2016 and September 2018 with the participation of 90 patients who had undergone total hip arthroplasty in a university hospital. Institution and ethics committee permission was obtained prior to the study. The "Patient Descriptive Form" and "Beck Hopelessness Scale" were used to collect the data. Data were analyzed by using the Mann-Whitney U, Chi square, Kruskal-Wallis H, and Spearman correlation tests in SPSS 20.0 package program. Results: Of the patients, 72.2% were female and the mean age was 64.4 ± 12.4 years. The mean total Beck Hopelessness Scale score of the patients was 6.66 ± 4.93. The mean score of the scale was higher in patients after total hip arthroplasty compared to the patients after primary total hip arthroplasty (p<0.05). There was a positive correlation between age and hopelessness (p<0.05). Conclusion: The hopelessness level of patients after total hip arthroplasty was found to be at a "moderate level." In the postoperative period, we think that the negative effects of hopelessness can be reduced by determining the patients at-risk for hopelessness and by providing appropriate nursing care by the surgical nurses.