PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Julie Kahler AU - Ginnifer Mastarone AU - Rachel Matsumoto AU - Danielle ZuZero AU - Jacob Dougherty AU - Jennifer L. Barton TI - It may help you to know. . .": The early phase qualitative development of a rheumatoid arthritis goal elicitation tool AID - 10.3899/jrheum.201615 DP - 2021 Jul 01 TA - The Journal of Rheumatology PG - jrheum.201615 4099 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2021/06/24/jrheum.201615.short 4100 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2021/06/24/jrheum.201615.full AB - Objective Treatment guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) include a patient-centered approach and shared decision making which includes a discussion of patient goals. We describe the iterative early development of a structured goal elicitation tool to facilitate goal communication for persons with RA and their clinicians. Methods Tool development occurred in three phases: 1) clinician feedback on the initial prototype during a communication training session; 2) semi-structured interviews with RA patients; and 3) community stakeholder feedback on elements of the goal elicitation tool in a group setting and electronically. Feedback was dynamically incorporated into the tool. Results Clinicians (n=15) and patients (n=10) provided feedback on the tool prototypes. Clinicians preferred a shorter tool de-emphasizing goals outside of their perceived treatment domain or available resources, highlighted the benefits of the tool to facilitate conversation but raised concern regarding current constraints of the clinic visit. Patients endorsed the utility of such a tool to support agenda setting and prepare for a visit. Clinicians, patients, and community stakeholders reported the tool was useful but identified barriers to implementation that the tool could itself resolve. Conclusion A goal elicitation tool for persons with RA and their clinicians was iteratively developed with feedback from multiple stakeholders. The tool can provide a structured way to communicate patient goals within a clinic visit and help overcome reported barriers, such as time constraints. Incorporating a structured communication tool to enhance goal communication and foster shared decision making may lead to improved outcomes and higher quality care in RA.