Attitudes to knee osteoarthritis and total knee replacement in Arab women: a qualitative study.

Background: Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is offered to patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the oil-rich countries in the Gulf region without adequate understanding of their perceptions, preferences or pain experiences. This study aimed to explore the pain experience and mobility limitation as well as the patient's decision making process to undertake TKA among women with knee pain in the waiting list for surgery.

Methods: Five focus group discussions were conducted comprised of 39 women with severe knee OA from the waiting list for TKA in the only orthopaedic hospital in Kuwait.