Randomized, Controlled Evaluation of a Virtual Human Patient for Provider Training in Motivational Interviewing

VA Puget Sound Health Care System

Status: Completed

Conditions: Motivational Interviewing

Treatments: Other: Academic Study; Other: Virtual Standardized Patient

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT04558060

DM150015

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of training with a virtual standardized patient on the acquisition and maintenance of motivational interviewing skills compared with traditional academic study.

Full description

Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based counseling approach that aims to increase a patient's motivation to make positive health changes in their lives. A common training method for medical professionals is the use of human standardized patients, who are actors who pretend to be patients for educational interviews. Standardized patients are expensive and it is challenging to maintain an adequate pool of patient actors. Accordingly, after licensure or medical boards, health professionals typically adopt new evidence-based practices, like motivational interviewing, without human standardized patient training experiences. Given the established importance of post-training coaching and feedback to the acquisition of motivational interviewing, innovative training methods are needed. Computer virtual patients may provide a cost-effective alternative that is scalable and supports dissemination of evidence-based practices. This study will evaluate the efficacy of a virtual standardized patient, relative to academic study, for training motivational interviewing among health care professionals from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense.

Enrollment: 126 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• All health care staff (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists) from supporting service lines are eligible to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• 8 hours or more of formal training in MI in the year prior to baseline assessment.
• Successfully completed participation in the VA Evidence Based Practice roll-out of MI.
• Served as MI trainers or have conducted research on MI at any time
• Do not anticipate being available for the full duration of the training study (according to their verbal self-report)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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126 participants in 2 patient groups

Virtual Standardized Patient

Experimental group

Description:

Training for 45 minutes at each training time point with a computer program that presented a virtual human patient and two simulated patient encounters. The virtual standardized patient involves a branching story line. Participants select 1 of 3 computer-generated response options at each conversational pause: 1) a response that is consistent with the principles and skills of MI, 2) an MI inconsistent response, or 3) a response that is mixed - partly consistent and partly inconsistent with MI.

Treatment:

Other: Virtual Standardized Patient

Academic Study

Active Comparator group

Description:

Study of a summary handout of motivational interviewing concepts and techniques for 45-minutes.

Treatment:

Other: Academic Study