Decision-making and goal-setting in chronic disease management: Baseline findings of a randomized controlled trial.

This is a baseline report, not a trial result on goal attainment or health outcomes. The trial compares collaborative goal-setting alone with collaborative goal-setting plus community health worker support, and has no placebo control arm, so it cannot show whether collaborative goal-setting works better than usual care. Participants were recruited from urban academic internal medicine clinics serving a high-poverty area, and were mostly low-income patients with multiple chronic conditions, so findings may not apply to other populations. Patients focusing on tobacco were asked to set complete cessation goals, which may have discouraged some heavy smokers. Action plans were shaped by the decision aid and community health worker prompts, so they may not reflect completely patient-driven planning. Goal-setting occurred during routine primary care visits with no extra dedicated time, so feasibility may depend on very short conversations.

No author conflicts or funding statement are provided in the supplied text; the paper is listed as supported by non-U.S. government research.

Do not read this as proof that collaborative goal-setting or community health worker support improves chronic disease control. This paper reports baseline choices, goals and action plans only, and the final trial results are not included. The trial also has no placebo control arm, so it cannot separate collaborative goal-setting from usual care.