Effects of Motivational Interviewing on Adherence to Treatment Regimens Among Patients With Type 1 Diabetes: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a strategy for promoting adherence to treatment regimens among patients with diabetes. However, limited evidence exists regarding its effectiveness in reducing A1C. OBJECTIVE. To identify and synthesize evidence about the effectiveness of patient, provider, and health system interventions to improve diabetes care among patients with type 1 diabetes. DESIGN. This was a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. METHODS. A search was conducted of the scientific databases MEDLINE, Elsevier, CINAHL, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Ovid, and PubMed without imposing any time limit. Only four documents met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The methodological quality of these four articles was reviewed by three reviewers using the Jadad Scale. The main intervention and the primary outcome in this study were MI or motivational enhancement therapy and A1C, respectively. RESULTS. The retrieved studies reported that MI promotes self-monitoring of blood glucose and reduces A1C. CONCLUSION. MI is effective in enhancing patients’ adherence to the treatment regimen and thereby decreasing A1C. Given the fact that the reviewed studies had not eliminated the effects of confounding factors, further studies are needed to assess the pure effects of MI on adherence to treatment regimens and A1C levels.