Supervisors info:
Γιάννης Τούντας, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Σωτηρία Σχορετσαντίτη, Επιστημονικός Συνεργάτης, Ιατρική, ΕΚΠΑ
Αρετή Λάγιου, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Δημόσιας & Κοινοτικής Υγείας της ΣΕΥΠ, ΤΕΙ, Αθήνας
Summary:
Ιn present study, an attempt was made to evaluate educational intervention in health professionals on Motivational Interviewing (MI) to improve nutritional behaviors and physical activity of patients in need of primary care. In the general section of this thesis, a review of the current literature on the process and importance of Motivation, the basic theories of behavioral change, as well as the basic principles of MI and how it can be applied to the daily clinical practice was reviewed. In the specific part of the work, an investigation of Attitudes, Confidence, Education and Skills was carried out on MI health professionals (N = 47) working as medical staff at “Evangelismos” and “Laiko” hospitals. An attempt was made to evaluate an educational intervention aimed at improving participants' attitudes towards MI, confidence in the application of MI to the daily clinical practice and skills required for its effective implementation. In particular, intervention was performed at the "Laiko" hospital (N = 26), while the employees at the "Evangelismos" Hospital consisted the control group (N = 21). Intervention included a slide presentation and a training guide referring to MI in general, the basic principles and skills required for its effective implementation, its potential benefits for patients, as well as examples of effective MI implementation to improve nutritional habits of patients and the introduction of exercise into their everyday lives. Main variables of the study were: Attitudes, Techniques, Confidence, and Skills; which were measured with the use of a questionnaire containing closed-ended questions on a Likert scale (1-5). The questionnaire was created by the researcher herself and was based on previous research. In the experimental group, measurements were made at baseline (T0), directly after (T1) and 1 month after intervention (T2). Correspondingly, control group performed measurements at time points T0 and T2. Following data analysis, intervening group showed statistically significant indications for the effectiveness of the intervention, as the majority of the post-intervention variables were improved compared to both short-term (T1) and long-term (T2) results. Moreover, by comparing the changes between the two groups, appeared to be no significant change in the intervening group's attitudes relative to the control group. On the other hand, there seems to be an improvement in the majority of questions about Techniques, Self-Confidence and Skills "I Investigate the Reasons That Induce the Patient to Unbalanced Eating Behaviors", and "I Make Positive Confirmation Comments". Finally, the percentage of participants who reported using MI in the daily clinical practice was increased by 37.9% in the intervention group one month after the intervention. Overall, it appears that the intervention has had positive results, despite its short duration and the limited sample to which it was applied to. In Greece there is a lack of fully structured health education and health promotion programs for nutrition and physical activity. The use of MI in everyday clinical practice has been found to help improve the eating habits and the physical activity of patients. So, according to the findings of this research, training health professionals on MI seems to be an effective way to initially improve attitudes and confidence, and in the long run the skills of health professionals on MI, so that they can apply it effectively.
Keywords:
Behaviour change, Communication skills training, General practice, Health professionals, Training health professionals, Motivational interviewing, Nutrition behavior, Nutritional habbits, Physical activity
