Expectations About Outcome Following Hip Fracture Among Older People

This paper reports on two studies, based on ethnographic interviews, of expectations about recovery from hip fracture. Interviewed were community residing elderly who had not experienced a hip fracture and 11 hospitalized hip fracture patients aged 59 to 85 years. Community elderly foresaw permanent impairment and social death. Hip fracture patients altered their expectations in response to observed progress and communications from health professionals. Perceptions of their own functional health also shaped these expectations. Several ways are suggested for social workers to use their observations of patients' expectations, and how they are constructing them, to guide interventions.