Effects of discharge nursing intervention program on hip function, exercise self-efficacy, and self-care in patients with total hip arthroplasty: A randomized controlled trial

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the effects of a discharge nursing intervention program on hip function, exercise self-efficacy, and self-care in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty.Methods: A randomized controlled pretest–posttest design was used with 54 patients (27 experimental and 27 control) hospitalized for total hip arthroplasty at Chungbuk National University Hospital in Cheongju, South Korea. The experimental group received a discharge nursing intervention consisting of two face-to-face education sessions before discharge, telephone counseling after discharge, and instructions for completing an exercise diary. The control group received routine discharge education on the day of discharge and a follow-up telephone call two weeks later providing outpatient appointment information. The effects of the intervention were evaluated by measuring hip function, exercise self-efficacy, and self-care at two time points: before the intervention and six weeks after surgery.Results: The experimental group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in hip function (t= -3.81, p<.001) and self-care (t= -7.93, p<.001) compared with the control group. Although exercise self-efficacy also increased in the experimental group, the difference was not statistically significant (t= -1.00, p=.324).Conclusion: The discharge nursing intervention program effectively enhanced hip function and self-care after total hip arthroplasty. These findings support the development of standardized discharge education guidelines and their integration into clinical nursing practice.