Improving medication adherence of patients with heart failure using tele-motivational interviewing

Objective: The patient's self-care behavior encompasses various aspects, including medication adherence, which has been identified as a significant concern in the context of heart failure. To encourage patients in their medication, tele-motivational interviewing can be used. The main aim of this research is to examine the effects of tele-motivational interviewing on medication adherence in individuals who have been diagnosed with heart failure.Materials and methods: In this research, an experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group was chosen. The study involved the implementation of tele-motivational interviewing, which spanned a duration of two months, with interventions taking place on a weekly basis. To measure medication adherence, the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was employed. In a randomly selected sample of 176 respondents, half were assigned to the experimental group (n=88), and the other half were assigned to the control group (n=88).Results: Pre-test medication adherence levels for the experimental group indicate that 68 respondents (77.2%) fall into the low category (score >2), whereas post-test medication adherence levels for the same group indicate that 55 respondents (62.5%) fall into the highest category (score 0). The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test demonstrates the p-value to be less than 0.001.Conclusions: Tele-motivational interviewing as a skill in education that supports the patients directly and continuously by monitoring during treatment by telephone, gradually changes and affects the patients' behavior. Hence, the utilization of tele-motivational interviewing presents a viable approach for enhancing medication adherence in individuals diagnosed with heart failure.