Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2005 Apr;55(513):305-12.

Motivational interviewing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Sune Rubak  1 , Annelli Sandbaek, Torsten Lauritzen, Bo Christensen
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Motivational interviewing: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Sune Rubak et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2005 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Motivational Interviewing is a well-known, scientifically tested method of counselling clients developed by Miller and Rollnick and viewed as a useful intervention strategy in the treatment of lifestyle problems and disease.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of motivational interviewing in different areas of disease and to identify factors shaping outcomes.

Design of study: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials using motivational interviewing as the intervention.

Method: After selection criteria a systematic literature search in 16 databases produced 72 randomised controlled trials the first of which was published in 1991. A quality assessment was made with a validated scale. A meta-analysis was performed as a generic inverse variance meta-analysis.

Results: Meta-analysis showed a significant effect (95% confidence interval) for motivational interviewing for combined effect estimates for body mass index, total blood cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, blood alcohol concentration and standard ethanol content, while combined effect estimates for cigarettes per day and for HbA(1c) were not significant. Motivational interviewing had a significant and clinically relevant effect in approximately three out of four studies, with an equal effect on physiological (72%) and psychological (75%) diseases. Psychologists and physicians obtained an effect in approximately 80% of the studies, while other healthcare providers obtained an effect in 46% of the studies. When using motivational interviewing in brief encounters of 15 minutes, 64% of the studies showed an effect. More than one encounter with the patient ensures the effectiveness of motivational interviewing.

Conclusion: Motivational interviewing in a scientific setting outperforms traditional advice giving in the treatment of a broad range of behavioural problems and diseases. Large-scale studies are now needed to prove that motivational interviewing can be implemented into daily clinical work in primary and secondary health care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of progress of randomised controlled trials through the review.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Funnel plot of randomised controlled trials using motivational interviewing as intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Miller WR. Motivational interviewing with problem drinkers. Behavioural Psychotherapy. 1983;11:147–172.
    1. Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing, preparing people to change addictive behavior. New York: The Guildford Press; 1991.
    1. Rogers CR. Client-centred therapy. Its current practice, implications, and theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1951.
    1. Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing, preparing people to change addictive behavior. New York: The Guildford Press; 2002.
    1. Anderson RM, Funnell MM, Butler PM, et al. Patient empowerment. Results of a randomised controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 1995;18:943–949. - PubMed

Publication types