Objective

To determine the effect of motivational interviewing, a nursing strategy, on adherence to treatment in patients who have suffered acute myocardial infarction and attend phase II in a cardiac rehabilitation program in Bogota.

Method

This research used a quasi-experimental design that had a nursing strategy based on motivational interviewing as its independent variable and adherence to treatment as its dependent variable. The control group (n=22) received the usual intervention in the cardiac rehabilitation program, while the experimental group (n=22) additionally received one weekly nursing intervention session of motivational interviewing during a three-week period. Three measures of adherence to treatment were taken: the first at the beginning of the study, the second, one week after the intervention had finished, and the third, five weeks after the intervention had finished.

Results

Inter-group analysis showed statistically significant changes only in the third measurement of the dimension that refers to the management of tense situations (p=0.013). Nevertheless, intra-group analysis showed statistically significant differences for the experimental group in their global results for treatment adherence (p=0.007) and in the expectations/self-efficacy behavior (p=0.013), as well as for the need of support for treatment adherence (p=0.013) five weeks after the intervention had finished.

Conclusion

Motivational interviewing seems to be a promising strategy for treatment adherence in patients who have suffered acute myocardial infarction. Therefore, it is advisable to continue researching in the field, so that results derived from intervention can be standardized.

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