Determination of pain, functional status and daily living activities of older women with osteoarthritis who under went total hip and knee prosthesis

The study was carried out descriptively aiming order to determine the pain, functional status and daily life activities of elderly women with osteoarthritis who underwent total hip and knee prosthesis. The study included 290 women with osteoarthritis who underwent total hip and knee arthroplasty and admitted to Orthopedics and Traumatology outpatient of Ibni Sina Hospital between August 2017 and November 2018. Data of the study were collected using The Introductory Information Form, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Functional Assesment Form and Barthel Daily Living Activities Index. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, median, minimum, maximum) and Wilcoxon test were for data analysis. As a result of the study: all patients at the 6th week after arthroplasty had mild persistent pain; pain after arthroplasty, infection, fear of dislocation, arthrodesis, fear of falling, and other causes limitation of mobility of the patients; it was founded that the functional levels of the patients after arthroplasty were better than those before the arthroplasty, and the median of the Functional Assessment point and Barthel Index score increased significantly. According to the results of the study, patients are less painful and have functional restraint than before. Therefore, we suggest to give importance to symptom management in nursing care in the postoperative period. Key words: Functional status, mobility, nursing, osteoarthritis, total hip and knee arthroplasty