A single-case experimental design investigation of collaborative goal setting practices in hospital-based speech-language pathologists when provided supports to use motivational interviewing and goal attainment scaling.

Only three clinicians were studied, so the results may not apply to other clinicians or settings. Each clinician worked with different clients during the intervention phase, so client differences may have affected the observed changes. The study could not separate the effect of the app from training, ongoing prompts, motivational interviewing, Goal Attainment Scaling, and debriefing. The outcomes were clinician interviewing behaviors and goal scale quality, not patient outcomes. The CIB task analysis was not validated before the study, and inter-rater reliability was fair for some interview phases. There was no maintenance phase, so it is unknown whether clinicians kept the new practices after app use stopped. The design was non-concurrent and baselines had only three to five sessions, which reduced internal validity. The study was done in an outpatient hospital, so it may not apply to acute care or skilled nursing settings.

The authors reported no potential conflict of interest.

Do not conclude that the eGAS app alone caused the improvements. The clinicians also received training, debriefing, and a process combining motivational interviewing and Goal Attainment Scaling, and the study could not separate these components. The study also measured clinician behavior, not patient outcomes.