Assessment of Goal Attainment Scaling in the Community Based Rehabilitation Setting: A Pilot Study
Keywords:
Outcome measure, goal attainment scaling, community based rehabilitationAbstract
Background
Outcome measures in physiotherapy are multi dimensional hence, may not estimate the individualized goals of patients with varying complaints. To make a quantitative, individual assessment of patients in a community is even more challenging. Therefore, assessment measure such as goal attainment scaling (GAS) acts as a better tool of measurement.
Objective
To assess feasibility of goal attainment scaling (GAS) as used by physiotherapists in a community based ehabilitation setting.
Method
This is a quantitative pilot study with pre and post intervention data evaluation using GAS. The author selected 10 consecutive patients, of different diagnosis, from referred patients waiting list and handed over to physiotherapists who gave informed consent to apply GAS scale.
Results
A total of 10 patients data were collected. The mean age of patients was 80.4 years. Patients with lower quadrant complaints showed a marked improved in GAS scores. A total of 19 goals were identified , out of which 8 goals were achieved at expected level; 6 failed to reach the expected level and 5 were superseded the expected level of performance. Feedback from physiotherapists suggested that GAS is a useful measure for community based rehabilitation (CBR) in a low income setting.
Conclusion
GAS proves to be a responsive measure in CBR setting. GAS provides clarity of goals for the physiotherapists, patients and hence, their families. GAS seems to have good psychometric properties but the concern with its use is therapist may set goals which are too easy to achieve for the patient.
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