Patient inclusion in goal setting during early inpatient rehabilitation after acquired brain injury

Objective: To investigate the effects of patient participation in multidisciplinary goal setting during early inpatient rehabilitation after acquired brain injury. Design: Case controlled retrospective study. Setting: Regional neurological rehabilitation unit. Subjects: One hundred and five patients with acquired brain injury. Main measures: Numbers of goals set and achieved per patient before and after intervention; Barthel Index and Functional Independence Measure. Results: The intervention resulted in a significant increase in the number of goals set per patient (340 versus 411 total goals, mean per patient 6.3 pre versus 8.05 post, P = 0.008). More patients had multiple goals set within each domain (P = 0.023). There was an increase in the number of patients with sleeping (0 pre, 9 post), continence (3 pre, 17 post) and leisure (15 pre, 35 post) goals set, and leisure goals achieved (60% pre and 68% post, P