A quasi-experimental study of group counselling effectiveness for patient functional ability and quality of counselling among patients with hip arthroplasty.
Mira Rajala, Raisa Holopainen, Maria Kääriäinen and 2 others
PMID 37247324WHAT IT FOUND
Group counselling before hip replacement matched individual counselling for patient satisfaction and post-surgery function.
Nurses can safely use group sessions to save time without harming recovery, though most patients still want better advice on coping at home.
Key findings
01Patients' perceptions of counselling quality and their self-assessed functional ability did not differ between the group and individual counselling arms.
02A majority of patients reported dissatisfaction with the specific counselling content regarding coping at home.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study had a small sample size, with significant attrition: only 43 of the initial participants provided follow-up data. It was conducted at a single university hospital in Finland, limiting generalisability to other healthcare systems. The design was quasi-experimental, and some patients assigned to the group intervention did not attend, potentially introducing bias. Outcomes were self-reported and measured only 1 month post-surgery, which is too early to assess long-term functional recovery or sustained counselling impact.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and received no financial support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume group counselling is superior for improving patient function. The study found it equivalent to individual counselling, not better, and it did not address long-term outcomes beyond one month.