Active patient involvement in the establishment of physical therapy goals: Effects on treatment outcome and quality of care

Abstract

Background: Little research has been carried out on the effects of involving patients in goal setting. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of active patient involvement in the establishment of physical therapy treatment goals. Outcome measures included both physical treatment results and patient ratings of the quality of care. Subjects and Methods: All patients (n=77) at the rehabilitation unit of the department of rheumatology at a Swedish university hospital were included in a randomized controlled trial. Control-group patients received physical therapy treatment according to traditional methods. Intervention-group patients were involved in a goal-forum intervention, where therapist and patient together established goals for treatment. All patients completed questionnaire surveys at discharge. Results: Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that patients in the intervention group were more likely to achieve better physical treatment results for range of motion, strength and balance, compared to controls. Goal-forum patients also gave higher ratings than the control group on quality of care scales. Discussion and Conclusion: Active patient involvement in establishing physical therapy goals may have beneficial effects on both treatment outcomes and patient ratings of the quality of care. Further studies involving more physical therapists and longer follow-up periods are warranted.