Designing an Instrument for Measuring Motivational Interviewing Skills Acquisition in Healthcare Professional Trainees

Abstract

Motivational interviewing (MI), as a counseling approach, has been used and evaluated extensively in the last decade. This approach has a significant impact on addiction management, change in lifestyle, and adherence to treatment. Knowing that adherence behavior has a complex nature and that motivational interviewing can address those complexities, proper training, and evaluation of such training is important. The purpose of this research project was to develop a valid, reliable, brief, and effective assessment tool for assessing mastery of MI skills in health care provider trainees attending training in MI. To address this purpose, specific steps were followed: developing conceptual and operational definitions; selecting a scaling technique; selecting a response format and developing directions for responding; preparing drafts of the instrument and conducting reviews of items; preparing a final draft of the instrument; analyzing internal consistency; inter-rater and test-retest reliability; and preparing a manual and examples of MI adherent and non-adherent behaviors. The validity and reliability of the instrument were established. Face and content validity were assured with well defined conceptual and operational definitions of the domain of the investigation. Reliability was established through internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability. The developed instrument is based on an analytic rubric. It is shorter and less time consuming in comparison to already existing instruments. The instrument evaluates the health care provider’s contribution to the interaction, but does not focus on how the patient contributes to the interaction. Several items in the Motivational Interviewing Skills for Health Care Encounters (MISHCE) are specifically reflective of the use of MI in health care encounters. These items have added to the uniqueness of the MISHCE and emphasize its specificity in evaluation of MI skills in health care encounters. The MISHCE is also unique in that while it evaluates the health care provider’s skills and knowledge, it also has an item that evaluates the “flow” of the interaction. The MISHCE can be used in training and supervision.