Family Function and Kinesiophobia in Patients after Hip Replacement Surgery: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Mediating Role of Illness Perception

This study investigated the association between family function and kinesiophobia in patients after hip replacement surgery and examined whether illness perception mediated this relationship. A total of 200 postoperative patients were included. On postoperative day 3, family function, illness perception, and kinesiophobia were assessed using the Family APGAR Index, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), and Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK-17), respectively. Descriptive, univariate, and correlation analyses were conducted using SPSS software. Mediation analysis was performed using Model 4 of Hayes' PROCESS 3.5 macro. Among the 200 participants, 59% experienced kinesiophobia. Family function was negatively correlated with kinesiophobia, whereas illness perception was positively correlated with kinesiophobia (r = -0.678 and 0.690, respectively; p < 0.001). Higher levels of family support were associated with lower levels of movement-related fear. Illness perception partially mediated the relationship between family function and kinesiophobia (β = -0.208, p < 0.05). The prevalence of postoperative kinesiophobia among patients after hip replacement surgery was high. The findings suggest that better family functioning may be associated with lower kinesiophobia, mediated by more positive illness perceptions. These results indicate that family support and cognitive appraisal should be considered when developing postoperative rehabilitation interventions.