Copyright restrictions may apply Randomized Trial of Teaching Brief Motivational Interviewing to Pediatric Trainees to Promote Healthy Behaviors in Families Lozano P, McPhillips HA, Hartzler B, et al. Randomized trial of teaching brief motivational interviewing to pediatric trainees to promote healthy behaviors in families. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164(6):

Copyright restrictions may apply Introduction Brief adaptations of motivational interviewing (MI) have been used to promote health behavior change in medical settings. Few studies have assessed provider skill after training. We hypothesized that pediatric resident trainees would demonstrate increased counseling skill following training in brief MI.

Copyright restrictions may apply Methods Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Intervention: A 9-hour behavior change curriculum (Collaborative Management in Pediatrics [CMP]) based on brief MI plus written feedback on communication skills. Participants: Pediatric residents (N=18), including residents in postgraduate years 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Copyright restrictions may apply Methods Steps in CMP: Set the stage. Provide information and feedback. Assess readiness to change. Explore ambivalence/elicit change talk. Close the conversation.

Copyright restrictions may apply Methods Main Outcome Measure: The percentage of MI-consistent behavior (%MICO), a summary score for MI skill, was assessed via Objective Standardized Clinical Evaluations (OSCEs) in which standardized patients portray parents of children with asthma in 3 clinical scenarios (stations). Secondary Measures: Global ratings of counseling style (MI spirit and empathy). Data Analysis: Effects of training and feedback on resident skills (%MICO score, empathy, and MI spirit) were assessed using linear regression, controlling for baseline values and stratified by OSCE station.

Copyright restrictions may apply Results Trained residents demonstrated a trend toward increased skill (%MICO score) at 3 months compared with control residents. At 7 months, %MICO scores increased 16% to 20% (P <.02) across all OSCE stations after the combined intervention of CMP training plus written feedback. The effect of training on global ratings supported the main findings.

Copyright restrictions may apply Results

Copyright restrictions may apply Results

Copyright restrictions may apply Limitations Generalizability to the larger population of pediatric residents was limited by the small sample size, single institution, and 38% refusal rate among residents. Long-term training effects were not assessed beyond 7 months. Possible barriers to dissemination to other residency programs include time commitment (a 9-hour workshop may be infeasible) and the dearth of faculty with MI skills. Lack of patient outcomes limits the ability to extrapolate from behavior change counseling skill to actual patient and/or family behavior change.

Copyright restrictions may apply Comment Pediatric trainees’ skill in behavior change counseling improved following the combination of training in brief MI plus personalized feedback. Measurable improvements in counseling skill persist for at least 7 months. Resident use of MI-consistent behaviors (eg, open-ended questions, reflections, affirmations, and supportive statements) increased following CMP training, when compared with an untrained, randomly assigned control group. Global rating of counseling style (MI spirit) rose more among residents who received training. This study provides support for the effect of training in brief MI on the communication style that pediatric trainees exhibit with standardized patients.

Copyright restrictions may apply Comment The therapeutic stance and skills taught of MI are relevant to ongoing national quality improvement efforts that put provider communication style and patient-centered care in the forefront of health care innovation and medical education. Replication of our findings in a larger multicenter sample with a broader variety of skill indicators is needed. Future trials should address optimal length/format of training, integration of MI into residency training, sustainability of skills, integration of behavior change counseling into the health care encounter, and the effect of adoption of MI skills by pediatricians on patient outcomes.

Copyright restrictions may apply Contact Information If you have questions, please contact the corresponding author: Paula Lozano, MD, MPH CMP curriculum is downloadable: Funding/Support This study was supported by grant R21 HL from the National Institutes of Health; the Group Health Community Foundation; and Seattle Children’s Hospital.