Abstract
Background: Diabetes is a world-wide problem with multiple negative health implications. Lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, play an important role in decreasing complications from diabetes. The primary care setting has traditionally been the source of lifestyle education for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Effectiveness of education in the primary setting is limited by lack of provider skill set, time, and resources. Motivational interviewing is a technique that can be used by health care providers to elicit behavior change. This technique allows the patient to explore his/her personal feelings about a particular behavior while the provider promotes behavior change.|Objective: The purpose of this quality improvement study is to determine if motivational interviewing is an effective strategy for use in the primary care setting to increase physical activity in adults with type 2 diabetes.|Method: A one group quasi-experimental design was used to study the effectiveness of a brief motivational interviewing intervention in 11 adults with type 2 diabetes followed in a rural Midwestern clinic. Pre-intervention baseline data and three month follow-up data was collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.|Results: Although the results were not statistically significant, the findings indicate that motivational interviewing does have a positive impact on increasing physical activity levels in adults with type 2 diabetes.|Conclusions: Motivational interviewing can be effectively used in the primary care setting. Further research should be conducted in larger more diverse populations.