Evaluation of the Effect of Motivational Interviewing Counselling on Hypertension Care

Objective: This study tests the effectiveness of motivational interviewing compared with the usual care for Chinese hypertensive patients.

Methods: A randomised controlled trial was used. One hundred and twenty eligible participants were randomly assigned to either the control group (usual care group) or the intervention group (motivational interviewing group).

Results: The results of this study demonstrated that the total scores and the mean scores for each dimension of the adherence questionnaire were increased in the intervention group (P<0.05), and the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure of the hypertensive patients greatly decreased in the intervention group during the six months of the motivational interviewing counselling (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The application of motivational interviewing for hypertensive patients is a promising approach for sustaining the clinical benefits of adherence behaviour.

Practice Implications: Motivational interviewing should be provided to hypertensive patients at hospitals and community health centres to assist patients in controlling their BP and to enhance treatment adherence. A series of training courses on the motivational interviewing technique should be provided to nurses.