Impact of Motivational Interviewing on Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Diabetes Type 2: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Diabetes is a common chronic disease that is increasingly managed in primary care. Different systems have been proposed to manage diabetes care. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of motivational interviewing on treatment outcomes in patients with diabetes type 2. Material and Methods: A sample of 200 patients with diabetes type 2 was randomly selected from Diabetes Registry of Heath Centre Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants were divided into two groups. Intervention group consisted of 100 participants, who were included in three months long program of motivational counselling. Control group consisted of 100 participants who obtained patient education as a part of their regular care in family practice. The measures used to portray patient’s treatment outcomes included fasting blood glucose level, HbA1c, blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and smoking status. Results: Although both groups experienced changes in treatment outcomes from baseline to follow up, statistically significant improvements in fasting blood glucose level (χ2=6.607; p =0.037), HbA1c levels (χ2=4.023; p =0.045), blood pressure (χ2=4.063; p=0.044) and serum cholesterol level (χ2=6.728; p=0.035) were found in the first group at follow-up compared to the second group. Statistically significant differences in body mass index and smoking status were not found between the groups. Conclusion: The findings provided important evidence concerning the positive effect of motivational interviewing, which may be the most compelling reason to implement it more widely in routine primary diabetes care.