Understanding barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and physical activity from patients either before and after knee arthroplasty
Christine A. Pellegrini,a,b Gwendolyn Ledford,a Rowland W. Chang,a and Kenzie A. Camerona,cKnee
Purpose
We sought to identify patient-reported barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and physical activity among patients before or after knee arthroplasty.
Materials and methods
Twenty patients with knee osteoarthritis aged 40–79 years who had knee arthroplasty surgery scheduled or completed within 3 months were interviewed. Interview topics included perceived barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and activity before or after surgery. Interviews were coded and analyzed using constant comparative analysis.
Results
Interviews were completed with 11 pre-operative (67.1 ± 7.6 years, 45.5% female, BMI 31.2 ± 6.3) and nine post-operative patients (61.7 ± 11.7 years, 44.4% female, BMI 30.2 ± 4.7 kg/m2). The most commonly identified personal barriers to healthy eating identified were desire for high-fat/high-calorie foods, managing overconsumption and mood. Factors related to planning, portion control and motivation to improve health were identified as healthy eating facilitators. Identified personal barriers for activity included pain, physical limitations and lack of motivation, whereas facilitators included having motivation to improve knee symptoms/outcomes, personal commitment to activity and monitoring activity levels.
Conclusion
Identifying specific eating and activity barriers and facilitators, such as mood and motivation to improve outcomes, provides critical insight from the patient perspective, which will aid in developing weight management programs during rehabilitation for knee arthroplasty patients.
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