Fostering meaningful racial engagement through intergroup dialogues

111-12

Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Patient Perceptions of Nutrition in the Perioperative Episode of Care

Background: While malnutrition in patients undergoing hip and knee arthroplasty occurs with moderate frequency and can be associated with postoperative complications, enhanced nutrition has been shown to have postoperative benefits. To date, patient knowledge and perceptions of the role of nutrition in recovering from surgery have not been studied. Methods: A Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice survey was administered to arthroplasty candidates presenting to a hip and knee orthopaedic clinic. The survey collected information on demographics, surgical history, patient concerns around the time of surgery, and patients’ attitudes toward and perceptions of nutrition. Results: A total of 500 patients (62.4% women) completed the survey. More than half of patients reported having a physician discuss nutrition with them, but only a third had been asked to modify their nutritional habits. The greatest patient concerns surrounding surgery were pain (59.2% of patients) and accomplishing activities of daily life (53.2%). The fewest patients were concerned with nutrition (7.6%), but most patients (94%) would modify their habits if they knew nutrition would positively impact their recovery. Most patients felt nutrition could help maintain muscle mass and function after surgery. Conclusions: Candidates for hip and knee replacements generally recognize nutrition’s importance, but few are concerned with their preoperative nutritional status. Current joint replacement literature shows a range of impacts nutrition can have on recovery from surgery. The study findings highlight gaps in patient knowledge regarding nutrition and suggest it would be beneficial for arthroplasty surgeons to actively educate patients on focused perioperative nutrition

How Well Do Undergraduate Research Programs Promote Engagement and Success of Students?

Assessment of undergraduate research (UR) programs using participant surveys has produced a wealth of information about design, implementation, and perceived benefits of UR programs. However, measurement of student participation university wide, and the potential contribution of research experience to student success, also require the study of extrinsic measures. In this essay, institutional data on student credit-hour generation and grade point average (GPA) from the University of Georgia are used to approach these questions. Institutional data provide a measure of annual enrollment in UR classes in diverse disciplines. This operational definition allows accurate and retrospective analysis, but does not measure all modes of engagement in UR. Cumulative GPA is proposed as a quantitative extrinsic measure of student success. Initial results show that extended participation in research for more than a single semester is correlated with an increase in GPA, even after using SAT to control for the initial ability level of the students. While the authors acknowledge that correlation does not prove causality, continued efforts to measure the impact of UR programs on student outcomes using GPA or an alternate extrinsic measure is needed for development of evidence-based programmatic recommendations