Development of an instrument to measure attitudes, practices, and factors towards goal-setting in stroke rehabilitation

Abstract

Background: Goal-setting is essential for a person-centered approach to stroke rehabilitation. Understanding this challenging and heterogeneous practice can contribute to optimising rehabilitation outcomes. However, valid, and reliable tools are lacking for its investigation. This study aimed to develop a self-report measure to assess attitudes, practices, and factors related to goal-setting in physiotherapists working with stroke rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was developed based on the literature and submitted for content and face validity with a committee of experts and physiotherapists. Selected items were considered to create scales for attitudes and practices towards goal-setting. The factor structure and internal consistency of these scales were examined. Results: All three dimensions had satisfactory content validity. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor structure for the Attitudes towards Goal-setting Scale (A-GS) (‘Role’ and ‘Participation’, together explaining 55% of the variance of the total score) and for Practices towards Goal-setting Scale (P-GS) (‘Procedures’ and ‘Documentation’, together explaining 56% of the variance of the total score). Cronbach alpha values and mean inter-item correlations indicated adequate internal consistency. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary support for the adequacy of this newly developed measure, which can be used as an assessment tool to determine physiotherapists’ attitudes and practices towards goal-setting in stroke rehabilitation and related factors.