title: Brief Motivational Intervention and telemedicine: a new perspective of treatment to marijuana users.
abstract: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the telephone Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) efficacy in marijuana consumption cessation. A clinical trial was performed on Brazilian citizens, who were randomly divided into experimental (BMI) and minimal intervention (reference material) treatment groups; the study involved 524 participants who were monitored for 6 months. In addition, the data was collected by a free-service call center; both marijuana consumption and level of motivation for behavior change were evaluated, based on the telephone service offered. The proportion of abstainers in the BMI group was significantly greater than in the control group: 73% of the individuals in the BMI group were abstainers. In the control group, 59% of them ceased on using marijuana. The ratio of probability for marijuana cessation was 1.6 times higher in the BMI group. There was no significant difference on the motivation for behavior change in both groups. The collected data demonstrated the telephone BMI's positive efficacy in marijuana consumption cessation.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. simone_psicol@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Maristela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferigolo
authors.forename: Mariana Canellas
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Benchaya
authors.forename: Taís de Campos
authors.initials: Tde C
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: Pollianna Sangalli
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Pierozan
authors.forename: Cláudia Galvão
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Mazoni
authors.forename: Helena Maria Tannhauser
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Barros
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000628:therapy*; D009042:Motivation; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult