Awareness and satisfaction of therapeutic goals on functional status in persons with hemiparetic stroke

Abstract

Objective: Setting therapeutic goals assist to identify patient priorities and predict problem that may arise in performing daily and functional activities. Goal setting is associated with improved rehabilitation outcomes in individuals with hemiparetic stroke. This study was conducted to assess the effects of having awareness and satisfaction of goals on the functional status of individuals with hemiparetic stroke. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Eighty-one people who had been diagnosed with stroke participated in this study. The study was conducted through a face-to-face surveys to identify participants’ awareness and satisfaction of goals and standard assessment tools were used to evaluate patients’ functional status. This study measured functional status through three clinical measures including the manual function test (MFT), Berg Balance scale (BBS), and modified Barthel index (MBI). Results: In participants with hemiparetic stroke, the MBI, BBS, and MFT scores were significantly higher in the participants who were aware of the therapeutic goal than in those who were unaware (p<0.05). The MBI, BBS, and MFT scores were not significant between the participants who were satisfied with the goal and those who were unsatisfied. Conclusions: This study suggests that having awareness in therapeutic goal-setting could lead to improvement of functional status in those with hemiparetic stroke. This study highlights how goal-setting can have a positive effect on persons with hemiparetic stroke.