| Chinese patients appear to underutilize total joint replacement (TJR) surgery at Tufts Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics clinic. This clinical issue led to this thesis, which involved a system analysis of the orthopaedic clinic. Interviews, clinical observations and a literature review ultimately informed the design of a questionnaire, which sought to identify the barriers and facilitators to electing TJR surgery for Chinese patients specifically. The questionnaire identified several barriers to surgery, which included unfamiliarity with surgery, misconceptions about physical health, lack of family support and demographic-specific barriers. A deeper understanding of the factors that influence the decision to elect or decline surgery resulted in suggestions for clinic modifications which will serve to reduce potential barriers to surgery for Chinese patients and thereby increase Chinese patients' utilization of TJR surgery. |
