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Goal Attainment Scaling

Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) is a method for setting goals which has utility in research and clinical settings to support person-centred care.

Provided below is a training package that is available for researchers seeking to implement GAS as an outcome measure. It seeks to facilitate a healthcare professionals’ ability to confidently, competently, and consistently administer GAS regardless of their knowledge base and skill set.

These resources are adapted from those developed for use in The GOAL Trial. The participants in that trial were frail older people living with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease. 

You can read our scoping review on how GAS has been implemented in randomised controlled trials in  BMJ Open.

Information on The GOAL Trial is available by review of the published protocol in Trials.

Permission for use

You may copy, distribute, display, download or otherwise freely deal with this work for any non-commercial educational, clinical or research purpose, provided that it is unaltered and you attribute the author.  

Creative commons

A practical guide to administering Goal Attainment Scaling © 2023 by Benignus Logan (University of Queensland: Centre for Health Services Research – Australian Frailty Network) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Resource

Link to download

Goal Attainment Scaling training package – overview of resources

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Slides for GAS online classroom teaching

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Simulation exercise

  - Instructions

  - Scenario 1 – Facilitator briefing

  - Scenario 1 – Patient briefing

  - Scenario 2 – Facilitator briefing

  - Scenario 2 – Patient briefing

 

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A practical guide to administering Goal Attainment Scaling

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Goal Attainment Scaling – blank template

Goal Attainment Scaling – populated example 

GAS Preparation Information Sheet 

Goal Setting Conversation Starter

Goal Setting Conversation Starter – populated example 

Zoom-based Conversation Starter and GAS template

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Links to online video recordings

  - Recording of presentation from GAS classroom teaching

  - Demonstration video of an initial GAS goal setting meeting


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One-on-one simulation – Version for research trainee

One-on-one simulation – Version for trainer

Click here

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Authorship and key contact

Dr Benignus Logan (available for contact at [email protected])

Acknowledgements

Dr Andrea Viecelli, Prof Ruth Hubbard, Laura Hickey, Dr Dev Jegatheesan, Bonnie Pimm, Elaine Pascoe and Dr Misa Matsuyama (for review of this document during the drafting process).

Suggested citation

Logan, B. A practical guide to administering Goal Attainment Scaling. Brisbane: University of Queensland: Centre for Health Services Research – Australian Frailty Network, 2023.