Better Understanding & Management of Expectations

Goal: To assess patient characteristics associated with willingness to undergo TJR; satisfaction with surgical outcomes; willingness to change to surgeons with shorter waiting times.

Sub-Project 3.1:

Patient expectations, preferences or willingness to undergo TJR.

Objective (Focus groups & longitudinal survey): To identify factors associated with willingness to undergo TJR at the level of the patient-surgeon consultation; to determine factors that influence patient perceptions of the risks & benefits of TJR: to identify sources & kinds of information patients use to make decisions about TJR; &, to examine the influence of patient expectations on health outcomes & patient satisfaction adjusting for relevant covariates.

Sub-Project 3.2:

A discrete choice analysis of patients’ willingness to choose an alternate surgeon to reduce waiting time.

Objective (Conjoint analysis): To assess patient views on willingness to change surgeons in order to reduce their waiting time for TJR. What factors are important to patients' willingness to choose an alternate surgeon to reduce waiting time; what trade-offs are patients willing to make, if any, in order to reduce surgical waiting time: &, are there any systematic differences between subgroups of patients (gender, region of residence) in their response to choice?