ArticleBMJ open2022
Goal attainment scaling as an outcome measure for randomised controlled trials: a scoping review.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07170605 (Implementing a Resilience Program in a Trauma-Informed Preschool Population), which is not on this map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Implementing a Resilience Program in a Trauma-Informed Preschool Population
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of sensory-based interventions for children and youth (2015-2024).Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of goal attainment scaling implementation practices by caregivers in randomized controlled trials.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2024Pooled it
- Patient-centred care for cardiovascular risk patients: insights into goal attainment and satisfaction from the DECADE study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Trial
- Goal attainment scaling in the heart failure and stroke resilience caregiver intervention pilot study.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2026Trial
- Investigating themes in hearing quality of life with user-nominated goals on the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile (GHABP).Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2025Trial
- Goals of Frail Older People Living With Chronic Kidney Disease: A Mixed Methods Study.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Testing the Recruitment Frequency, Implementation Fidelity, and Feasibility of Outcomes of the Heart Failure Activity Coach Study (HEALTHY): Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2025Trial
- Goal setting among older adults starting mobile health cardiac rehabilitation in the RESILIENT trial.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Trial
- A psychosocial goal-setting and manualised support intervention for independence in dementia (NIDUS-Family) versus goal setting and routine care: a single-masked, phase 3, superiority, randomised controlled trial.The lancet. Healthy longevity · 2024Trial
- Cognitive Remediation Works But How Should We Provide It? An Adaptive Randomized Controlled Trial of Delivery Methods Using a Patient Nominated Recovery Outcome in First-Episode Participants.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2023Trial
- Clinical, histopathological, and biomarker characterization of XLMTM and ADCNM: Operational lessons, screening and baseline data of the Unite-CNM study.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Article
- Improving functioning in severe mental illness with cognitive remediation: study protocol for a pragmatic randomised multi-centre trial with adjunct sham-controlled tDCS (HEADDSET+).European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- A toolkit for new facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy trial sites.Journal of neuromuscular diseases · 2026Review
- Changes in Child Behaviour Following a Brief Parenting Intervention (Triple P) for Families of Children with Phenylketonuria (PKU): A Case Series.Behavior modification · 2026Article
- Patient-centred outcomes of a rheumatology podiatry service for people with foot-specific symptoms: protocol for a randomised feasibility trial.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Article
- A new psychosocial goal-setting and manualised support intervention for independence in dementia (NIDUS-Family): longer-term outcomes of a randomised controlled trial.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- The Goal Attainment Scale in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3: Exploration of Feasibility and Content Validity.Cerebellum (London, England) · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of improving nutrition on depressive symptoms and work ability: Study protocol for the mind nutrition randomized controlled trial.Nutrition and health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectives(1) Identify the healthcare settings in which goal attainment scaling (GAS) has been used as an outcome measure in randomised controlled trials. (2) Describe how GAS has been implemented by researchers in those trials.
designScoping review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews approach. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, CENTRAL, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched through 28 February 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: English-language publications reporting on research where adults in healthcare settings were recruited to a randomised controlled trial where GAS was an outcome measure. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two independent reviewers completed data extraction. Data collected underwent descriptive statistics.
resultsOf 1,838 articles screened, 38 studies were included. These studies were most frequently conducted in rehabilitation (58%) and geriatric medicine (24%) disciplines/populations. Sample sizes ranged from 8 to 468, with a median of 51 participants (IQR: 30-96). A number of studies did not report on implementation aspects such as the personnel involved (26%), the training provided (79%) and the calibration and review mechanisms (87%). Not all trials used the same scale, with 24% varying from the traditional five-point scale. Outcome attainment was scored in various manners (self-report: 21%; observed: 26%; both self-report and observed: 8%; and not reported: 45%), and the calculation of GAS scores differed between trials (raw score: 21%; T score: 47%; other: 21%; and not reported: 66%).
conclusionsGAS has been used as an outcome measure across a wide range of disciplines and trial settings. However, there are inadequacies and inconsistencies in how it has been applied and implemented. Developing a cross-disciplinary practical guide to support a degree of standardisation in its implementation may be beneficial in increasing the reliability and comparability of trial results. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021237541.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.