ReviewCureus2026
Social Work-Supported Strategies to Reduce Postoperative Readmissions in Orthopedic Surgery: A Narrative Review.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Postoperative readmissions in orthopedic surgery remain a persistent cause of patient morbidity and increased healthcare costs, many of which are preventable through improved care coordination. Social workers are uniquely positioned to address psychosocial and structural barriers influencing postoperative recovery. This narrative review examined peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2025 using PubMed, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Google Scholar. Eligible studies included U.S.-based articles evaluating social work roles in discharge planning, transitional care, case management, or community linkage programs aimed at reducing readmissions following orthopedic procedures. Across the literature, social work-supported interventions, such as early comprehensive needs assessments, structured discharge planning, involvement of caregivers, coordination with rehabilitation and home-health services, and facilitation of transportation or housing resources, were consistently associated with reduced readmissions and unplanned care utilization. Embedding social workers within multidisciplinary teams improved communication, postoperative instruction comprehension, follow-up adherence, and patient satisfaction. Benefits were most pronounced among high-risk groups, including older adults, socially isolated patients, and individuals facing significant social determinants of health-related barriers. Integrating social workers into perioperative orthopedic care pathways can meaningfully improve discharge readiness and postoperative safety. Orthopedic teams can apply these findings by adopting standardized social needs screening, involving social workers early in hospitalization, and strengthening partnerships with community organizations. These strategies provide practical, scalable pathways for reducing preventable readmissions and advancing patient-centered care.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.