Variation in perceptions of treatment and self-care practices in elderly with osteoarthritis: a comparison between African American and white patients

Treatment Preferences in Patients with Knee or Hip Osteoarthritis: An Overview

“…When the question referred to considering TJR in the future if it was recommended by the physician, only ethnicity and perceived efficacy were significant predictors. To date, studies strongly suggest that less willingness of AfroAmericans to undergo TJR compared with white patients is accounted for by several psychological factors: they have worse expectations about TJR outcomes (Ibrahim et al, 2002a), expect a longer hospital stay (Ibrahim et al, 2002b), are more likely to perceive various traditional and complementary care modalities as efficacious (Ibrahim et al, 2001), and consider that prayer is a helpful option to face up to OA disability (Ang et al, 2002). These beliefs and expectations may have important historical roots; discrimination against African Americans, for example, may have created cultural expectations of avoiding medical interventions in favour of home remedies.…”

Update on hip and knee arthroplasty: Current state of evidence

“…Fewer African Americans than whites reported knowing someone who had THA or TKA, and were less likely to report that joint replacement surgery helped someone they knew (135). Overall, African Americans had a lower perception of the efficacy of joint replacement compared with whites (136).…”

Breakout Session: Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Joint Arthroplasty

“…Some patients have strong attitudes of caution and lack of confidence toward any major surgery [6,12,16]. Many minority patients are more willing to use complimentary and traditional care modalities that do not include surgery for their arthritis and pain management [15]. Other patients are simply unable to process and accept the uncertainty of risks and benefits from surgery and, consequently, avoid it [7].…”