Development and construct validation of the Client-Centredness of Goal Setting (C-COGS) scale

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Rehabilitation science
• Clinical psychology

Background:

• Client-centered philosophy is fundamental to occupational therapy and rehabilitation.
• Evaluating client-centered goal planning requires understanding the client's perspective.
• The Client-Centredness of Goal Setting (C-COGS) scale was developed for practitioners to guide and evaluate client-centered practice, especially for adults with acquired brain injury.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of the C-COGS scale.
• To examine the construct validity of the C-COGS scale.

Main Methods:

• The C-COGS scale was administered to 42 participants with acquired brain injury post-multidisciplinary goal planning.
• Construct validity was established by correlating C-COGS scores with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) importance scores, and measures of therapeutic alliance, motivation, and global functioning.

Main Results:

• The C-COGS scale comprises three subscales: goal alignment, goal planning participation, and client-centeredness of goals.
• C-COGS subscale items showed moderately significant correlations with scales measuring similar constructs, supporting its validity.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary evidence supports the construct validity of the C-COGS scale.
• The C-COGS scale can be used to evaluate and reflect on client-centered goal planning in clinical practice.
• The scale can help identify factors contributing to best practice rehabilitation.