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Objective: Joint replacement therapy is an effective treatment option for end-stage osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and/or hip. There are marked racial/ethnic disparities in the utilization of this procedure. The reasons for these disparities are not known. We sought to determine whether African American patients differ from white patients in their "willingness" to consider joint replacement and to determine the factors that influence this relationship., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of 596 elderly, male, African American or white patients with moderate-to-severe symptomatic knee or hip OA who were receiving primary care at the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics., Results: The groups were similar with respect to age, severity of arthritis measured by the Lequesne Scale and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, and scores on the Charlson Comorbidity Index and Geriatric Depression Scale. Compared with whites, African Americans were less likely to be employed or married or to have attained a high school education, but were more likely to report a median annual household income of <10,000 dollars. They were also less likely than whites to be familiar with joint replacement and more likely to expect a longer duration of hospital course, pain, and functional disability following replacement surgery. African American patients were less "willing" than white patients to consider joint replacement (odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.30-0.84). However, this difference was explained by the between-group differences in expectations., Conclusion: African American patients were less likely than white patients to express "willingness" to consider joint replacement if the procedure was needed and recommended. This difference was explained by differences between the groups in their expectations of hospital course, pain, and function following replacement surgery.

Objective: To compare elderly African American and white patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip with respect to their perceptions of the efficacy of traditional and complementary treatments and their self-care practices., Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study design using structured questionnaires was employed., Results: The sample consisted of 593 patients (44% African American and 56% white). The 2 groups were comparable with respect to age, disease severity or functional status, and comorbidities. African Americans were more likely than whites to report lower educational level and household income. African Americans were also more likely than whites to perceive various traditional and complementary care modalities as efficacious. However, they were less likely than whites to perceive joint replacement therapy as efficacious (odds ratio 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.28-0.98). African American patients were more likely than white patients to rely on self-care measures for their arthritis., Conclusion: African American and white patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip differ with respect to their perceptions of traditional and complementary treatments for arthritis and their self-care practices.