Effectiveness of motivational interviewing on medication adherence in patients with breast cancer

Breast cancer is a chronic and debilitating disease that accompanied with many psychological problems in diagnosis and treatment process, which reduces adherence to treatment. Various interventional models have been used to increase adherence to treatment. One of these models is motivational interview. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing on adherence to treatment in patients with breast cancer. 

In this clinical trial, 44 patients with breast cancer who referred to Kowsar hospital in Semnan were selected and randomly assigned into three groups (group intervention, individualized intervention and control). Morisky 8-Item Medication Adherence Questionnaire used for pre and post-test. After pre-test, individual and group motivational interviews (5 weekly 45 minute sessions) performed. Data analyzed by covariance analysis in SPSS-21 software. 

The findings of one-way ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference in pre-test scores of medication adherence between the groups (F= 0.188, P= 0.829). The results showed that the mean score of medication adherence in individualized and group intervention increased, while the scores of the control group reduced. Therefore, motivational interviewing increased medication adherence in individualized and group interventions (P<0.002). 

Generally, motivational interviewing is effective to increase medication adherence in patients with breast cancer. Considering no significant difference between individualized and group intervention, group intervention recommended due to the cost-effectiveness.