Impact Of Social Deprivation And Ethnicity On Patient-Reported Outcome Measures In Primary And Revision Hip And Knee Arthroplasty

Description

This episode of AI Talks with Bone & Joint discusses the July 2026 paper by J E Archer and colleagues on the impact of social deprivation and ethnicity on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty. Simon and Amy explain that the study examined demographics, comorbidities, and PROMs including EQ-5D, Oxford Hip Score, and Oxford Knee Score. They highlight that patients from the most deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and people whose first language is not English had lower preoperative PROMs, and that greater social deprivation was associated with higher comorbidity. The discussion also notes that although surgery improved outcomes, revision procedures showed less pronounced improvement than primary procedures, and disparities persisted after surgery. The hosts emphasize possible reasons such as reduced trust and engagement with healthcare among some minority groups, delayed treatment, and the compounding effect of socioeconomic disadvantage and poor health. Suggested solutions include improving access to orthopaedic and physiotherapy services, reaching underserved communities, providing multilingual information, and intervening earlier so all patients can benefit more equally from arthroplasty. The episode concludes by stressing that free healthcare alone does not eliminate inequality and that a multifaceted approach is needed to improve outcomes across all demographics.

Specialties

Paper Links

https://boneandjoint.org.uk/Article/10.1302/2633-1462.77.BJO-2025-0401.R1