The effects of venous thromboembolism prevention education for elderly patients with total knee arthroplasty

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop and test the effects of venous thromboembolism prevention education for elderly patients with total knee arthroplasty. Methods: A non-equivalent control group posttest only non-synchronized design was used. The participants were 43 older adults (experimental group: 21, control group: 20) who had experienced total knee arthroplasty surgery at ∗university hospital located in ∗city. Venous throm-boembolism prevention education consisted of a 20 minute intervention on the evening before the operation and a 5 minute intervention on the operation day including education and strategies for enhancing health belief. Data were collected from October 20, 2017 to March 10, 2018. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test with SPSS/WIN 24.0. Results: The experimental group showed significantly higher levels of knowledge, self-reported preventive behaviors, and number of ankle movements compared to the control group. Conclusion: The study findings indicate that venous thromboembolism prevention education can be recommended as an effective nursing intervention for preventing venous thromboembolism of elderly patients with total knee arthroplasty.