Cross-Prehab

The socioeconomic impact of prehabilitation in knee and hip transplantation in cross-border cooperation.

Description

Total knee and hip replacement (i.e. total endoprosthesis (TEP)) is one of the most common and invasive surgical procedures in orthopedic surgery. The majority of studies and projects to date have focused on optimizing the rehabilitation process following knee/hip TEP, with the overarching goal of improving patients’ quality of life. Over the last 20 years, the evidence for the use of preoperative measures has increased, but the application and methods vary widely and, in most cases, they focus on a single method.

Our approach is that a combination of scientific knowledge, clinical experience and practice of the project partners in a multimodal prehabilitation program (i.e. preparation before surgery) can optimize the clinical course of knee/hip TEP. What is new is the inclusion of patients in a multimodal prehabilitation program that emphasizes the biopsychosocial components of prehabilitation, which should further improve treatment outcomes and may lead to more cost-effective treatment of patients undergoing knee/hip TEP.

The aim of the cross-border cooperation is to develop a complex PREHAB program, including information and educational material for patients, with the involvement of the relevant target groups, in particular primary care and outpatient care.

This will address the areas of information/education, learning/exercise, training and pain management tailored to individual needs and enable the optimization of the biopsychosocial approach in the prehabilitation of patients undergoing knee/hip TEP surgery. Finally, the results will be used to optimize the clinical pathway, incorporating social modeling, user experience and cost-effectiveness analyses to be implemented by the partner institutions.

a. The four pillars of prehabilitation

Funding Program

Funding Program: INTERREG Slovakia-Austria

Priority: 3. A more social SK-AT border region

Specific objective: 3.2 Ensuring equal access to health care and fostering resilience of health systems, including primary care, and promoting the transition from institutional to family- and community-based care

Project Duration: 01.09.2024. – 31.08.2027

Project Budget: 1,857,748.20 €

ERDF Funding: 1,486,198.56 €