Background: There is an increasing focus on patient involvement in cancer rehabilitation. Goal assessment may improve the patient's self-management of life after cancer.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether (1) nurse-led supported goal setting and assessment of goal achievement were feasible in a clinical setting and (2) there was a positive association between women's goal achievement and their self-assessed global health status (GHS).
Methods: Women surgically treated for gynecological cancer were offered rehabilitation counseling consisting of 2 face-to-face sessions and 2 phone calls carried out by a nurse. The Goal Attainment Scale evaluated goal achievement, whereas GHS was assessed with a quality-of-life questionnaire (European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30).
Results: One hundred fifty-one women consented to participate; 70% of the women at the first phone call and 72% at the second phone call achieved their goals as "expected" or "more or much more than expected." Endometrial cancer patients more often achieved their goals than ovarian or cervical cancer patients. Approximately 32% of ovarian and 40% of cervical cancer patients scored their goal achievement "below expected." The patients' GHS was not associated with goal attainment measured at each phone call.
Conclusion: Goal measurement is feasible in cancer rehabilitation, in both goal setting and goal achievement. Goal achievement less than expected levels in women recovering from ovarian or cervical cancer suggests a need for additional support.
Implications for practice: This study supports goal setting and goal achievement as a feasible approach to improve cancer rehabilitation and that nursing professionals can facilitate individualized rehabilitation efforts.