DNP Projects
Date of Award
7-28-2026
Document Type
Graduate Paper
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Dr. Carrie Hoover
Subject Categories
Nursing
Abstract
Effective preoperative education is essential as total joint arthroplasty (TJA) procedures shift to outpatient care, yet traditional education methods may not be meeting patients’ diverse learning styles. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aimed to evaluate the impact of multimodal preoperative education (in-person, virtual, hybrid video modules, or a combination) on patient-reported anxiety and discharge readiness, as well as length of stay (LOS), surgical site infections (SSIs), and 30-day readmissions. The in-person portion could not be implemented due to staffing constraints. The pre-post evaluation was conducted with a sample of 273 patients undergoing elective hip and knee arthroplasty (pre n=115; post n=158) at a midwestern hospital. Participants who completed the virtual education option had the highest pre-operative anxiety score (4.20 ± 1.48) but also experienced the largest decrease in post-operative anxiety (1.00 ± 1.16). Standard education (written materials only) had the lowest reported discharge preparedness (46.7%), while combination methods had the highest (87.5%). LOS, SSI, and 30-day readmissions increased following the implementation of multimodal education. Multimodal education improved patient-reported outcomes, with the greatest benefit observed with combined approaches. Further research is needed to tease out the educational modality and its effect on individual clinical outcomes
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Hannah, "Evaluating Preoperative Education Modalities for Orthopedic Surgery Patients" (2026). DNP Projects. 30.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/nursing_dnp/30