Motivational interviewing: Validation of a proposed NIC nursing intervention in persons with a severe mental illness

Introduction Low adherence to treatment is a common problem in the care of patients with severe mental illnesses. Motivational interviewing is a directive, client-centered counseling therapeutic approach designed to elicit behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalence. Nurses use motivational interviewing, although it has not been defined from a nursing perspective nor with nursing language. Thus, nursing research on the use of these techniques is being carried out, supported by their effectiveness in many health problems. The development of motivational interviewing as a standardized nursing intervention for inclusion in the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) may promote its use by mental health nurses in their daily work and thus improve the quality of care. Objectives To validate a proposed motivational interviewing nursing intervention for inclusion in the NIC. Materials and methods We followed the validation methodology of the NIC of the Iowa and the Intervention Normalization for Nursing Practice projects. The study comprised theoretical (scientific and expert validation) and empirical (terminological and clinical validation) phases. Results There is ample evidence supporting the efficiency of the motivational interviewing to improve the therapeutic adherence of people with severe mental illness. The group of experts agreed on the label name "motivational interviewing" for the NIC based on the modified model by Miller & Rollnick (2015), which includes 28 associated activities through the phases of engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning. Development of the NANDA International and the Nursing Outcomes Classification nursing language was completed. Knowledge and drug attitude improved in the motivational intervention group. Conclusions We validated the nursing intervention motivational interviewing for inclusion in the NIC that will help improve therapeutic adherence. The intervention may be used for other behavioral changes.