'There are too many of us to fix.' Patients' views of acceptable waiting times for hip and knee replacement.

OBJECTIVES

To assess patients' views of maximum acceptable waiting times (MAWT) for hip and knee replacement, associated factors and the accuracy of self-reported waiting times.

METHODS

We mailed 1000 questionnaires each to two random samples of patients either waiting for or who had received an arthroplasty within the preceding 3-12 months. We used linear regression to assess the determinants of patient MAWT, and content analysis to assess reasons for MAWT and ideal waiting time.

RESULTS

Of the 1330 responses, 1127 had MAWT data. The sample was 57% women; mean age was 70 +/- 11 years. Median self-reported and actual waiting time was eight months (Spearman correlation = 0.70). Median MAWT was four months and ideal waiting time was two months. The most frequent reasons for MAWT were pain, quality of life and needing time to prepare for surgery. A longer MAWT was associated with younger age, group (waiting), a longer self-reported waiting time, better EQ-5D index, an acceptable waiting time, a perception of fairness and a view that others worse off on the list should go ahead.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients' views of acceptable waiting times are important for a fair process of establishing waiting time benchmarks for joint replacement.