Objectives
: This study aimed to describe the classification of goal domains, goal traits, and the
goal-setting process as revealed by previous life goal-setting practices of healthcare
professionals collaborating with cancer survivors.
Methods
: The design was a scoping review. The MEDLINE, Academic Search Premier, and CINAHL
databases were searched and mapped for papers with descriptions of goal domains, goal
traits, and the goal-setting process. Goal domains were classified as life goals that
were health-related, psychological, social, achievement-related, and leisure goals. Goal
traits were classified based on specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed
(SMART) criteria. The goal-setting process was classified based on the frameworks of
goal-setting phases (preparation, formulation, follow-up) and their components.
Results
: In total, 229 papers were identified, and 24 papers were included in the final
analysis. All papers included health-related goals, followed by psychological and social
goals. All goal domains were included in 41.7% of the papers. Relevant goals were the
most common and timed goals were the least common. All papers included either of the
components that comprise the preparation or formulation phases. We found that 12.5% of
papers did not include any of the three components of the follow-up phase.
Conclusions
: The life goals collaboratively set between cancer survivors and healthcare
professionals were characterized by the following: psychological and social goal
domains, numerous goal domains, more relevant goals and fewer timed goals, low
proportion of patient education in the preparation phase, and high proportion of
evaluation of progress or achievement in the follow-up phase.