Study background
Osteoarthritis of the knee is an long-term condition that can cause severe pain and disability. Every year, 10% of UK adults visit their family doctor for issues related to osteoarthritis. The recommended treatments for osteoarthritis are: information, education, exercise, physiotherapy, weight-loss, and medication. These should be offered before referral for knee replacement surgery. However, there are concerns that knee replacement surgery is overused. There is evidence that referral rates for knee replacement are higher than the uptake of non-surgical treatments, such as weight loss and exercise.
Some studies have found that patients have high expectations they will receive surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee. But that a high number of people are dissatisfied with the results following knee replacement surgery. This is partly due to unrealistically high expectations of treatment outcomes. It has been found that clinicians do not have time to provide up-to-date information on alternatives to surgery, or to discuss patient preferences for treatment.
The Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group is introducing a new shared decision-making tool for knee osteoarthritis. The ‘Torbay knee chart’ aims to ensure patients have access to appropriate treatments at every stage of the disease process.
Study aims
We will conduct interviews with patients and healthcare professionals to establish whether the Torbay Knee Chart is acceptable for these groups. We will explore whether the tool is used as intended, and what the users think of it. The findings from this study will guide improvements to the Torbay Knee Chart.