Preferences for recovery after TKR: A discrete choice experiment

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Preferences for recovery after a total knee replacement: A discrete choice experiment

  • IRAS ID

    310390

  • Contact name

    Andrew Metcalfe

  • Contact email

    a.metcalfe@warwick.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Warwick

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Background:
    Randomised controlled trials are the gold-standard method of assessing whether new technologies provide any additional benefit from current care. They are, complex by nature, and therefore can be challenging to interpret. They typically set a primary outcome measure (POM), which is often used to accept or reject the intervention being tested. Within surgical trials, the POM is at a set time point, and forms a single-dimensional assessment after what is often a complex, multifaceted recovery after surgery.

    Background:
    Randomised controlled trials are the gold-standard method of assessing whether new technologies provide any additional benefit from current care. They are, complex by nature, and therefore can be challenging to interpret. They typically set a primary outcome measure (POM), which is often used to accept or reject the intervention being tested. Within surgical trials, the POM is at a set time point, and forms a single-dimensional assessment after what is often a complex, multifaceted recovery after surgery.

    The RACER-knee trial is assessing the effectiveness of robotic-assisted total knee replacement compared to traditional total knee replacement. The POM is the Forgotten Joint Score at 12 months after surgery. In interpreting results of this study, balancing outcomes such as relief of pain, return to activities of daily living and return to mobility are difficult to quantify and prioritise.

    What do we want to know?
    What are the priorities for recovery for people undergoing a total knee replacement?

    How will we do this?
    This study will use a discrete-choice experiment (DCE). People are involved to choose between hypothetical scenarios for ‘attributes’ such as a pain or return to activities of daily living. Choice between scenarios, whether to accept or reject a scenario, are used to estimate the influence and value of those individual attributes. There will be three phases to this study.

    >Phase I: We will conduct interviews with people to explore attributes important to recovery. Open ended questions will be used to ensure new ‘attributes’ and themes can be generated.
    >Phase II: A pilot DCE questionnaire will be created and tested with a small group of people.
    >Phase III: The final DCE questionnaire will be distributed to an estimated 400 people. We will analyse the results to rank our attributes based on their relative importance to other attributes.

    What do we want to know?
    What are the priorities for recovery for people undergoing a total knee replacement?

  • REC name

    London - South East Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    21/PR/1764

  • Date of REC Opinion

    11 Jan 2022

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion