How active are patients in setting goals during rehabilitation after stroke? A qualitative study of clinician perceptions.

PURPOSE: We investigated stroke rehabilitation clinician's perceptions of the patient as an active partner in setting goals within stroke rehabilitation and factors that influence patient engagement.

METHODS: Semi-structured interviews, subject to general inductive analysis with 20 Clinicians' working in three UK based stroke rehabilitation teams (one in-patient ward and two community based rehabilitation teams).

RESULTS: There were three key themes that impacted on the patients active involvement in setting goals for rehabilitation after stroke: Patient barriers to goal setting (knowledge of the patient and family, who is the patient and the stroke's impact); How we work as a team (the role of the patient in setting goals, the effect of clinician attributes on goal setting); and How systems impact goal setting (goal-setting practice, home versus hospital, and professional/funder expectations of clinicians').

CONCLUSIONS: Goal setting served a range of different, sometimes conflicting, functions within rehabilitation. Clinicians' identified the integral nature of goals to engage and motivate patients and to provide direction and purpose for rehabilitation. Further, there was an identified need to consider the impact of prioritizing clinician-derived goals at the expense of patient-identified goals. Lastly the reliance on the SMART goal format requires further consideration, both in terms of the proposed benefits and whether they disempower the patient during rehabilitation. Implications for rehabilitation Goal setting is often promoted as a relatively simple, straightforward way to structure interactions with patients Patient-related factors together with resourcing constraints are significant barriers to patient-centered goal setting, particularly during inpatient rehabilitation Clinicians need to have pragmatic tools that can be integrated into practice to ensure that goal-setting practice can be maximized for patients with different intrinsic characteristics.