Nicholas F. Taylor

Purpose To determine if a consumer co‐designed infographic increased knowledge of physical activity and self‐efficacy for exercise after total knee joint replacement surgery. Methods Forty‐four adults with primary knee joint replacement surgery were recruited from a public and a private hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were randomly allocated to an experimental or control group. The experimental group received a consumer co‐designed infographic. All participants received usual care. Primary outcome measures were knowledge of physical activity and self‐efficacy for exercise. Outcomes were administered at baseline, week 1 and week 6. Semi‐structured interviews with experimental group participants explored the acceptability, implementation and efficacy of the infographic. Results There were no between‐group differences for knowledge of physical activity at week 1 (MD −0.02 units, 95% CI −0.9 to 0.9) or week 6 (MD 0.01 units, 95% CI −0.9 to 0.9). Self‐efficacy for exercise increased at week 1 (MD 14.2 units, 95% CI 2.9–25.4) but was not sustained. Qualitative data showed that the infographic was embraced by some participants but not by others. Conclusions A consumer co‐designed infographic did not improve knowledge of physical activity but may have had a short‐term positive effect on self‐efficacy for exercise after knee joint replacement. Trial registration ACTRN12621000910808.