Studies show that patients rely on physician advice in determining health goals. Collaboratively setting health improvement goals with patients is an important step in motivating healthy behaviors. Physicians or other providers set treatment priorities and make recommendations about changes that would enhance health. To be effective in engaging the patients and families toward healthy behaviors, physicians will also ask about patient concerns and priorities, and then they will collaboratively arrive at a plan for self-management.
Using agenda-setting tools such as the Bubble Diagram can introduce the collaborative process of establishing healthy goals. It is important that patients’ priorities in goal setting lead the decision about which goals are established. Keep in mind that achieving small successes toward a goal that is important to patients will enhance their confidence and sense of control in managing their illness, and this will pave the way to achieving goals in other areas.
- Use a variety of tools such as the Bubble Diagram or Dinner Plate Menus to engage the patient in setting a health goal.
If you'd like a tool for setting your goals, you can use this web application:
ReplyDeleteGtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A Vision Wall (inspiring images attached to your goals) is available too.
Works also on mobile, and syncs with Evernote.