Promoting treatment adherence through motivational interviewing

(from the chapter) In medical settings, patient adherence is one of the greatest challenges to achieving treatment goals. According to Zweben and Zuckoff (2002), treatment adherence describes "the extent to which people follow through with agreed-on or prescribed actions, or do what providers expect them to do, where treatment is concerned" (p. 300). Motivational interviewing (MI) can be used to increase a variety of treatment compliant behavior, such as attending scheduled appointments and medication compliance (Zweben & Zuckoff, 2002). DiMatteo, Giordani, and Lepper (2002) conducted a meta-analysis to examine the relationship between patient adherence and medical treatment outcomes in 63 studies over a 30-year period. Results showed that on average 26% more patients had a better treatment outcome when adherence rates were high. The correlation was even stronger in studies that did not involve medications (e.g., behavior change interventions) and when the illness was chronic (e.g., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, intestinal disease, and sleep apnea). Their review supports the simple yet important fact that treatment efficacy often depends on patient adherence. Given the strong correlation between treatment adherence and positive outcomes, what can practitioners do to increase patient adherence? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)