Healthcare professionals experience with motivational interviewing in their encounter with obese pregnant women.
OBJECTIVE
to explore and describe how healthcare professionals in the Southern Region of Denmark experienced motivational interviewing as a communication method when working with pregnant women with obesity.


METHODS
a qualitative, descriptive study based on face-to-face interviews with 11 obstetric healthcare professionals working in a perinatal setting.


METHODS
a thematic descriptive method was applied to semi-structured interviews. The healthcare professional's experiences were recorded verbatim during individual semi-structured qualitative interviews, transcribed, and analysed using a descriptive analysis methodology.


RESULTS
motivational interviewing was found to be a useful method when communicating with obese pregnant women. The method made the healthcare professionals more aware of their own communication style both when encountering pregnant women and in their interaction with colleagues. However, most of the healthcare professionals emphasised that time was crucial and they had to be dedicated to the motivational interviewing method. The healthcare professionals further stated that it enabled them to become more professional in their daily work and made some of them feel less 'burned out', 'powerless' and 'stressed' as they felt they had a communication method in handling difficult workloads.


CONCLUSIONS
healthcare professionals experienced motivational interviewing to be a useful method when working perinatally. The motivational interviewing method permitted heightened awareness of the healthcare professionals communication method with the patients and increased their ability to handle a difficult workload. Overall, lack of time restricted the use of the motivational interviewing method on a daily basis.
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense University Hospital, Odense 5000, Denmark. Electronic address: clindhardt@health.sdu.dk.
Christina Louise
CL
Lindhardt
Department of Paediatrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Centre of Medical Education, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark.
Sune
S
Rubak
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense University Hospital, Odense 5000, Denmark.
Ole
O
Mogensen
Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Helle Ploug
HP
Hansen
Family Centre, Sønderborg Hospital, Sønderborg, Denmark.
Henri
H
Goldstein
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense University Hospital, Odense 5000, Denmark; Division of Surgery, University College, London, Northwick Park Institute of Medical Research Campus, London, UK.
Ronald F
RF
Lamont
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense University Hospital, Odense 5000, Denmark.
Jan Stener
JS
Joergensen
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D008880:Midwifery; D062405:Motivational Interviewing; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011295:Prenatal Care
Communication; Midwifery; Motivational interviewing; Obesity; Obstetric; Qualitative analysis