The effect of fall prevention education on fear of falling in patients with scheduled total knee arthroplasty: a quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of fall prevention education given to patients with scheduled total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on their fear of falling in the postoperative period. The study had a quasi-experimental design. The study sample included 70 patients. Data were gathered with a patient characteristics form and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) at face to face interviews. The intervention group was given a brochure and face-to-face education about fall prevention before surgery. Activities such as the first mobilization, assisted walking, climbing stairs, getting out of bed and sitting in bed after the surgery were demonstrated and performed. Patients were followed up to 16 weeks after surgery. The mean age of the control and intervention groups, respectively; 62.26 ± 6.38 and 59.46 ± 7.33. The fear of falling scores before the operation and in the postoperative 6^th-8^th weeks were high in the intervention group (40.17 ± 8.32 and 31.71 ± 7.83 respectively) and the control group (44.14 ± 8.86 and 40.91 ± 8.43 respectively). The fear of falling scores in the postoperative 14^th-16^th weeks were high in the control group (37.2 ± 9.03) and moderate in the intervention group (26.42 ± 5.59). The scores for FES-I in the 6^th-8^th weeks and 14^th-16^th weeks after surgery were very significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group(p < .001). The results of the study showed that the patients experienced a great fear of falling before and after surgery. It can be said that the education given reduces the fear of falling significantly and in the early period.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants who voluntarily participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics approval

The study protocol was approved by Dokuz Eylül University Ethical Committee for Noninvasive Research (approval date: 06.01.2020; approval number: 2020/01–19).

Consent to participate

All the participants gave informed consent for the research, and their anonymity was preserved. Permission was obtained from the institution and clinic where the study was conducted.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.