Goal setting in stroke rehabilitation : a systematic review and qualitative synthesis of the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals

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Fišerová, Anna and Duchoňová, Šarlota and Hafiz, Hannah and Hagarová, Martina and Morton, Brodie and Tessmann, Helena and Graham, Christopher D. and Rickardsson, Nils (2026) Goal setting in stroke rehabilitation : a systematic review and qualitative synthesis of the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals. Clinical Rehabilitation. ISSN 0269-2155 (https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155261446313)

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Abstract

Objective: To synthesise and analyse qualitative evidence relevant to the question: What are the experiences and perspectives of healthcare professionals on goal setting in stroke rehabilitation? Data sources: PubMed, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and CINAHL were systematically searched in May 2025, supplemented by backward and forward citation searching. Review methods: This systematic review was pre-registered on PROSPERO (CRD420251038210). Eligibility criteria included peer-reviewed qualitative or mixed methods studies with qualitative data from healthcare professionals outlining experiences of goal setting in stroke rehabilitation. Non-English publications were excluded. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist was used to appraise quality. Data were analysed using thematic synthesis. Results: Eight studies, published between 1999 and 2020, were included. These comprised 108 clinicians of various rehabilitation disciplines, from multiple countries, working across acute, inpatient and community settings. Most data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Methodological rigour of identified studies was generally high. Nine descriptive themes emerged from the thematic synthesis. From these descriptive themes, three analytical themes were derived: (1) Who leads, who follows?, (2) Between hope and reality, (3) Starting with the person, not the problem. Eight of the descriptive themes were directly related to analytical themes, whereas one theme was a stand-alone theme. Confidence in the thematic synthesis findings was assessed as moderate. Conclusion: This synthesis of qualitative studies from various rehabilitation settings in stroke found that experiences of goal setting from the perspective of healthcare professionals describe directive and collaborative approaches, emotional aspects of goal setting in time-limited contexts and a commitment to person-centred care.

ORCID iDs

Fišerová, Anna, Duchoňová, Šarlota, Hafiz, Hannah, Hagarová, Martina, Morton, Brodie, Tessmann, Helena, Graham, Christopher D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8456-9154 and Rickardsson, Nils ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3798-7008;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:96022
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    2 May 2026
    Published
    2 May 2026
    Published Online
    13 April 2026
    Accepted
    Notes:Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
    Subjects:Medicine > Medicine (General)
    Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Psychological Sciences and Health > Psychology
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:16 Apr 2026 10:10
    Last modified:02 Jun 2026 07:11
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/96022
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)