Objectives. Electronic forms of data collection have gained interest in recent
years. In orthopaedics, little is known about patient preference
regarding pen-and-paper or electronic questionnaires. We aimed to
determine whether patients undergoing total hip (THR) or total knee
replacement (TKR) prefer pen-and-paper or electronic questionnaires
and to identify variables that predict preference for electronic
questionnaires. Methods. We asked patients who participated in a multi-centre cohort study
investigating improvement in health-related quality of life (HRQoL)
after THR and TKR using pen-and-paper questionnaires, which mode
of questionnaire they preferred. Patient age, gender, highest completed
level of schooling, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, indication
for joint replacement and pre-operative HRQoL were compared between
the groups preferring different modes of questionnaire. We then
performed logistic regression analyses to investigate which variables
independently predicted preference of electronic questionnaires. Results. A total of 565 THR patients and 387 TKR patients completed the
preference question. Of the THR patients, 81.8% (95% confidence
interval (CI) 78.4 to 84.7) preferred pen-and-paper questionnaires
to electronic questionnaires, as did 86.8% (95% CI 83.1 to 89.8)
of TKR patients. Younger age, male gender, higher completed level
of schooling and
