Development of a rehabilitation goal menu for inpatients with neurological disorders: application in a Saudi Arabian context

Abstract

Objective: To develop a rehabilitation goal menu based on understanding the specific goals that are important to neurological inpatients and that fall within commonly identified rehabilitation domains. Design: Qualitative methods (semi-structured interview, focus groups) to develop a goal menu followed by cross-sectional study to measure participants’ goal rankings. Setting: Rehabilitation hospital in Saudi Arabia. Subjects: A total of 130 participants with neurological injury. Main measures: Participant rankings of rehabilitation goals and self-reported level of difficulty in areas such as mobility, self-care, accessibility, productivity, and leisure. Results: A 10-item goal menu was developed based on initial focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and literature review. The overall highest ranked rehabilitation goal was Functional Mobility/Locomotion, followed by Self-Care and Religious/Life Philosophy. Self-reported level of difficulty with mobility was strongly associated with the ranking of Functional Mobility/Locomotion as a rehabilitation goal. However, there was little correspondence between reported difficulty and priority ranking of self-care. Subsequent factor analysis of detailed goal items suggest that the goal menu could be reduced to seven items. Conclusions: This study provided an understanding of which rehabilitation goals are important to Saudi clients with neurological disorders that could be used to facilitate their contribution to the goal-setting process.