Magida, N.; Myezwa, H.; Mudzi, W. Factors Informing the Development of a Clinical Pathway and Patients’ Quality of Life after a Non-Union Fracture of the Lower Limb. Healthcare2023, 11, 1810.
Magida, N.; Myezwa, H.; Mudzi, W. Factors Informing the Development of a Clinical Pathway and Patients’ Quality of Life after a Non-Union Fracture of the Lower Limb. Healthcare 2023, 11, 1810.
Magida, N.; Myezwa, H.; Mudzi, W. Factors Informing the Development of a Clinical Pathway and Patients’ Quality of Life after a Non-Union Fracture of the Lower Limb. Healthcare2023, 11, 1810.
Magida, N.; Myezwa, H.; Mudzi, W. Factors Informing the Development of a Clinical Pathway and Patients’ Quality of Life after a Non-Union Fracture of the Lower Limb. Healthcare 2023, 11, 1810.
Abstract
Patients with non-union fractures spend extended periods in the hospital following poor healing. Patients have to make several follow-up visits for medical and rehabilitation purposes. However, the clinical pathways and quality of life of these patients are unknown. This prospective study aimed to identify the clinical pathways (CPs) of 22 patients with lower limb non-union fractures whilst determining their quality of life. Data were collected from hospital records on admission through discharge, utilising a CP questionnaire. We used the same questionnaire to track patients' follow-up frequency, involvement in activities of daily living, and outcomes at six months. We used the short form-36 questionnaire to assess patients’ initial quality of life. The Kruskal-Wallis test compared the quality of life domains across different fracture sites. We examined CPs using medians and inter-quantile ranges. During the six-month follow-up period, 12 patients with lower limb non-union fractures were readmitted. All of the patients had impairments, limited activity, and participation restrictions. Lower limb fractures can have a substantial impact on emotional and physical health, and lower limb non-union fractures may have an even greater effect on the emotional and physical health of patients, necessitating a more holistic approach to patient care.
Keywords
clinical pathways; lower limbs; quality of life; non-union fractures
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
