Promoting Motivational Interviewing in Primary Care: More Than Intention

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Behavioral Science
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Effective patient engagement is crucial for fostering self-responsibility in healthcare.
• Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a key approach for patient engagement but faces implementation challenges.
• Training health professionals in MI is essential for improving patient interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess post-training attitudes and intentions of health professionals regarding Motivational Interviewing (MI) utilization.
• To examine the association between post-training intentions and self-reported MI practice one month later.

Main Methods:

• Survey data collected from 209 participants immediately post-training and at 30-day follow-up.
• Assessed intent to use MI, confidence in patient interaction, and perceived training importance.
• Analyzed frequencies and percentages of categorical/ordinal variables.

Main Results:

• 91.5% intended to use MI post-training; only 48.7% reported moderate to great implementation at 30 days.
• An additional 32.1% reported occasional MI use.
• Positive attitudes towards MI training importance and confidence impact persisted.

Conclusions:

• Widespread MI implementation in primary care hinges on translating intent into practice, not just on perceived importance.
• Bridging the gap between MI intention and consistent application requires further investigation and support strategies.