Setting communication goals with people with aphasia and informal caregivers using Goal Attainment Scaling

Abstract

Title: Setting communication goals with people with aphasia and informal caregivers using Goal Attainment Scaling Background: Aphasia has a large impact on the social interaction of persons with aphasia (PWA) and their informal caregiver (IC). There is very little evidence on setting goals for improvement of communication between PWA and the IC. Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) could be a feasible method for setting and measuring communication goals. However, there are no known studies using GAS as a measure for participation-based goals in PWA's rehabilitation, which makes it unclear if GAS is suitable for this group of patients. This study aims to explore the suitability of GAS by evaluating the SLT’s experiences. Research question: How do SLTs experience GAS in goal-setting for communication between PWA and IC. Method: This study is a qualitative, explorative and phenomenological study. SLTs of various healthcare centres in the region of Utrecht - Rotterdam received training in GAS, after which the method was applied for setting goals in communication with PWA and IC. Experiences and opinions were collected by semi-structured interviews. Results: Twelve SLTs were included. After analysis, four themes emerged in the data; timing is essential, identifying needs, applicability of GAS, and effect of GAS. Conclusion: GAS stimulates the patient's control of their own goals and therapy, as well as the SLTs, being more aware of the steps in the goal-setting process. Some barriers raised for using GAS, such as specifying goals, time and suitability for subsets of PWA Recommendations: Further research is necessary for evaluation of PWA’s participation-base goals with GAS and usability for PWA’s impairment-based goals. Before implementing GAS for participation-based goals, suitability should be considered based on the PWA’s rehabilitation phase and healthcare facility they are in.