Abstract
Purpose
This study explored how patients and carers experienced weight-bearing instructions and mobilisation timing following hip fracture surgery. It also examined their views on unrestricted weight-bearing and early mobilisation and perceived barriers to these practices.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (18 carers, 7 patients) from Saudi Arabia’s healthcare systems. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Participants viewed unrestricted weight-bearing and early mobilisation as important when prescribed by clinicians, reflecting strong trust in professional judgement. However, their experiences showed inconsistency in clinical instructions and how these were understood and implemented. Implementation was shaped by clinical instructions, clarity of communication, perceived safety, and patients’ physical capacity and psychological state. Concerns about falls were mostly reported by carers as barriers to mobilisation, although some patients also described fear shaped by past injuries, difficult recoveries, or uncertainty about undiagnosed complications. Carers played a key role in encouraging mobilisation, adapting instructions, and maintaining continuity of care when weight-bearing and mobilisation were challenging for patients.
Conclusion
To support adherence to weight-bearing and mobilisation instructions, clinicians should provide timely, consistent prescriptions aligned with evidence-based guidance. Communication must be inclusive to support understanding, confidence, and autonomy among patients and carers
This study explored how patients and carers experienced weight-bearing instructions and mobilisation timing following hip fracture surgery. It also examined their views on unrestricted weight-bearing and early mobilisation and perceived barriers to these practices.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (18 carers, 7 patients) from Saudi Arabia’s healthcare systems. The data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Participants viewed unrestricted weight-bearing and early mobilisation as important when prescribed by clinicians, reflecting strong trust in professional judgement. However, their experiences showed inconsistency in clinical instructions and how these were understood and implemented. Implementation was shaped by clinical instructions, clarity of communication, perceived safety, and patients’ physical capacity and psychological state. Concerns about falls were mostly reported by carers as barriers to mobilisation, although some patients also described fear shaped by past injuries, difficult recoveries, or uncertainty about undiagnosed complications. Carers played a key role in encouraging mobilisation, adapting instructions, and maintaining continuity of care when weight-bearing and mobilisation were challenging for patients.
Conclusion
To support adherence to weight-bearing and mobilisation instructions, clinicians should provide timely, consistent prescriptions aligned with evidence-based guidance. Communication must be inclusive to support understanding, confidence, and autonomy among patients and carers
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Disability and Rehabilitation |
| Early online date | 29 Jan 2026 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 29 Jan 2026 |
Bibliographical note
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. his is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.Funding
This work acknowledges the support of the National Institute for Health Research Barts Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR203330). For the purposes of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Accepted Author Manuscript version arising from this submission. We would like to extend our thanks to Dr. Abdullah A.O. Alhaidari, Dr. Mohammed M Alshehri, Dr. Mona Ali Qahtani, AlJaoharah Aldhubaiban, and Nawal Alghamdi for their support with recruitment.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust/Institute of Cancer Research | NIHR203330 |
Keywords
- Neck of femur fracture
- rehabilitation
- interview study
- orthogeriatric
- weight-bearing
- mobilisation timing
- qualitative research
- older people