The effectiveness of extended care based on Internet and home care platform for orthopaedics after hip replacement surgery in China

Aims and objectives To evaluate the effect of an Internet‐based home orthopaedic care platform on patients’ functional joint recovery, quality of life and activities of daily living after hip replacement. Background Most of the functional exercises after arthroplasty are performed outside the hospital. At present, the WeChat platform is used mainly in the inland of China for continuous nursing of patients with chronic disease in the Department of Orthopedics. Design An experimental design was applied. Methods Four hundred patients who had undergone hip replacement from April to October 2016 were selected from 18 hospitals with nurse specialists in clinical orthopaedics. These patients were randomised into control and intervention groups (n = 200 per group). In the control group, only routine nursing care was carried out after discharge. In the intervention group, continuous intervention was performed via the Internet‐based orthopaedic care platform. The patients in the two groups were compared in terms of functional recovery (Harris hip score), quality‐of‐life score (MOS SF‐36) and activities of daily living (Barthel index) at 3 and 6 months after discharge. Results In total, 389 patients were enrolled in this study. There were no significant differences in the baseline data between the two groups. After 6 months of continuous intervention, the mean MOS SF‐36 score, Barthel index and Harris hip score in the intervention group were significantly higher than those in the control group. Conclusion The study gives full play to the role of clinical nurse specialists and provides professional home care services to patients in the region after hip replacement through home care orthopaedic platform. The platform guides the patients to master the correct disease knowledge and rehabilitation exercise methods, promotes the recovery of joint function, improves the activity of daily living, elevates the quality of life and meets the need of long‐term management. Relevance to clinical practice Internet and home care orthopaedic platform is a nursing system designed specifically for extended care management outside of the hospital, which is helpful for patients who undergone hip replacement to obtain effective home care services after discharge, improving patients’ quality of life and rehabilitation efficacy.