The Belief in Goal Self-Competence Scale (BiGSS) - Exploring a new way to support individual goal pursuit and document occupational therapy outcomes in paediatric practice

Aim: The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) is an outcome measure of clients' self perceptions of performance and satisfaction with occupational performance and is widely used in paediatric research. The aim of this study was to explore how a new outcome measure, the Belief in Goal Self-Competence Scale (BiGSS), was perceived by paediatric occupational therapists to compliment the COPM as a way of documenting client confidence in goal pursuit. Methods: Two hundred and forty-one occupational therapists participated in an online survey through paediatric listserv groups and professional networks. Therapists' views about goal setting and the utility of the BiGSS were analysed descriptively and open ended questions were analysed thematically. Results: Overall, goal setting was viewed as a highly important aspect of therapy (n = 221, 90.7%) although only 22% (n = 52) of respondents indicated using formal goal setting tools. For the subset of respondents who frequently used the COPM (n = 101, 42%) almost all (97.87%) indicated that they would find the BiGSS to be moderately or highly useful to their current practice. Suggestions for improvement of the measure involved wording and formatting. Conclusion: This study supports existing evidence that goal setting is highly valued by occupational therapists, however, formal tools are not always used. There was preliminary support for a measure such as the BiGSS as a means of documenting children's and families confidence in goal pursuit.