Ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients’ knowledge expectations and perceptions of received knowledge Katja Heikkinen, Helena Leino-Kilpi, Ari Hiltunen, Kirsi Johansson, Anne Kaljonen, Sirkku Rankinen, Heli Virtanen & Sanna Salantera ¨ Accepted for publication 22 June 2007 Correspondence to K. Heikkinen: e-mail: katheik@utu.fi Katja Heikkinen MNSc RN Lecturer Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku and Turku University of Applied Sciences, Turku, Finland Helena Leino-Kilpi PhD RN Professor and Chair Head of Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku and Nurse Manager, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland Ari Hiltunen MD Head of the Outpatient Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology Clinic, Clinic Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland Kirsi Johansson MNSc RN Lecturer Anne Kaljonen BSc Statistician Sirkku Rankinen MNSc RN Research Assistant Heli Virtanen MNSc RN Lecturer Sanna Salantera ¨ PhD RN Adjunct Professor Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Turku, Finland HEIKKINEN K HEIKKINEN K., LEINO LEINO -KILPI H KILPI H ., HILTUNEN A HILTUNEN A ., JOHANSSON K JOHANSSON K ., KALJONEN A KALJONEN A ., RANKINEN S RANKINEN S ., VIRTANEN H. & SALANTERA S. (2007) VIRTANEN H. & SALANTERA ¨ S. (2007) Ambulatory orthopae- dic surgery patients’ knowledge expectations and perceptions of received knowl- edge. Journal of Advanced Nursing 60(3), 270–278 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04408.x Abstract Title. Ambulatory orthopaedic surgery patients’ knowledge expectations and per- ceptions of received knowledge Aim. This paper is a report of a study to compare orthopaedic ambulatory surgery patients’ knowledge expectations before admission and their perceptions of received knowledge 2 weeks after discharge. Background. Advances in technology and population ageing are driving up the number of ambulatory orthopaedic surgical procedures. Shorter hospital stays present a major challenge for patient education. Methods. A descriptive comparative cross-sectional study (pre- and post-test) de- sign was adopted. The data were collected from 120 consecutive patients in 2004, using the Hospital Patient’s Knowledge Expectations Scale and Hospital Patient’s Received Knowledge Scale. All patients participated in a preoperative education session given by a nurse. Results. Patients expected more knowledge than they actually perceived that they received on all dimensions except the bio-physiological. They perceived that they received least knowledge about experiential, ethical, social and financial dimensions of knowledge. Knowledge expectations correlated with age and professional edu- cation. Perceptions of received knowledge correlated with earlier ambulatory sur- gery, and both expected knowledge and perceptions of received knowledge were related to the level of basic education. Conclusion. Patients’ knowledge expectations are greater than the knowledge they perceived that they receive, and they cannot become empowered if they lack important knowledge. Further research is needed to learn about meeting patients’ knowledge expectations. Keywords: expectations, Hospital Patient’s Knowledge Expectations Scale, Hospi- tal Patient’s Received Knowledge Scale, knowledge, nursing, orthopaedic surgery, patient teaching ORIGINAL RESEARCH JAN 270 Ó 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd