Self-Management Goal Setting: Identifying the Practice Patterns of Community-Based Physical Therapists

Purpose: To describe the collaborative goal-setting practices of community-based physical therapists trained in a self-management (SM) approach who work with clients with chronic conditions and to describe clients' goal-achievement rates. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for 296 randomly selected home-care clients from July 2009 through July 2010 using a chart-abstraction form created to capture demographic data and information related to goal setting and achievement. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and Pearson's chi-square tests. Results: There was no significant relationship between sex, age, or number of chronic conditions and setting SM or non-self-management (NSM) goals or the type of SM goal set. The majority of goals set were “action” as opposed to “verbal” goals. A high proportion (89–100%) of both SM and NSM goals were met. Conclusions: Clinicians should be aware that it is possible to set SM goals regardless of the client's sex, age, or number of chronic conditions. Other possible influences on goal setting, such as severity of chronic conditions and challenges of the health care system, should be further investigated.