Do GPs use motivational interviewing skills in routine consultations with patients living with mental-physical multimorbidity? An observational study of primary care in Scotland.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether motivational interviewing is used by GPs in consultations with patients living with mental-physical multimorbidity.

METHODS: Secondary analysis of selected videos from an existing database of routine general practice consultations with adult patients in Glasgow, Scotland. Consultations involving patients with mental-physical multimorbidity were selected and coded using the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) coding system.

RESULTS: Sixty consultations were coded involving 32 GPs across 16 practices. Mean consultation length was 9.9 min. On average GPs asked 1.7 questions per minute and offered 1.2 pieces of information per minute. Using the MITI, five GPs met beginner proficiency for the relational global qualities of partnership and empathy; however, none of the GPs met beginner proficiency for the technical global rating of efforts made to encourage patients to discuss behaviour change. Simple reflections were observed in 67% of consultations and complex reflections in 28% of consultations. Confrontation, a technique inconsistent with motivational interviewing, was observed in 18% of consultations.

DISCUSSION: MI was not evident in these consultations with patients living with mental-physical multimorbidity. This study provides information about the baseline motivational interviewing-consistent skills of GPs working with multimorbid patients and may be helpful in informing motivational interviewing training efforts and future research.