Improving hip replacement: Mapping the evidence along the patient journey

Total hip replacement is a common and effective treatment for people with osteoarthritis. It helps reduce pain and improve movement and quality of life.  

However, there are many different stages in a patient’s journey, before, during, and after surgery. A wide range of treatments and care options are used along the way. Not all of these approaches are backed by strong research, and it’s unclear where evidence is lacking. 

Project aims

We want to find out where there are gaps in the research evidence about the best ways to support patients having a hip replacement.  

To do this, we will look for a type of study called a ‘systematic review’. These look at all the evidence available on a particular topic, bringing together findings from a range of studies looking at different treatments. 

We will look for systematic reviews that examine treatments used before, during, or after hip replacement surgery. These could include things like exercise programmes, pain management strategies or rehabilitation support.  

If good-quality reviews aren’t available, the team will include recent individual trials. The research will cover both standard hip replacements and revision surgeries. Revision is where the patient has another surgery because the original one hasn’t fully worked. 

What we hope to achieve

By reviewing and mapping the available research, we will highlight where strong evidence exists and where more studies are needed.  

We will create a visual “evidence gap map” to show how much evidence there is on different treatments and how reliable that evidence is. This will help researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers make informed decisions and focus future research efforts where they are most needed.  

Ultimately, we want to improve care and outcomes for people undergoing hip replacement by ensuring that all stages of their treatment are based on the best possible evidence.