Márcia de Assunção Ferreira

Users’ participation in nursing care: an element of the Theory of Goal Attainment

Background: Users’ participation in care has been acknowledged as a key factor to improve health services. Aim: To analyze the Theory of Goal Attainment and to discuss the explicit and implicit relations between the Theory and the phenomenon of users’ participation in nursing care. Design: Theoretical analysis of the Theory of Goal Attainment. Methods: The analysis phase of the Framework for Analysis and Evaluation of Nursing Theories was applied. Then, the explicit and implicit relations between the Theory and the phenomenon of users’ participation were analyzed. Results: Users’ participation in nursing care is an element of the Theory of Goal Attainment, although limited to the goal setting and the means to achieve them. Conclusion: The choice for users’ participation in care is a right defended in health policies around the world. The Theory of Goal Attainment is an appropriate guide to nurses in defense of users’ participation in nursing care.