Bombardier and coworkers sought to determine if motivational interviewing-based telephone counseling increased health promotion activities and improved other health outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). A randomized controlled trial with wait-list controls and single-blinded outcome assessments performed at baseline and at 12 weeks was conducted at the MS research and training center in the Pacific Northwest. Community-residing persons (N=130) with physician confirmed MS aged 18 or older who were able to walk unassisted at least 90 m (300 ft) served as subjects. The intervention consisted of a single in-person motivational interview followed by five scheduled telephone counseling sessions to facilitate improvement in one of six health promotion areas: exercise, fatigue management, communication and/or social support, anxiety and/or stress management, and reducing alcohol or other drug use. The outcome measures were the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II plus fatigue impact, subjective health, and objective measures of strength, fitness, and cognition. Intent-to-treat analyses of change scores were analyzed using nonparametric tests. Seventy persons were randomized to treatment and 60 to the control condition. The treatment group reported significantly greater improvement in health promotion activities, including physical activity, spiritual growth, and stress management as well as in fatigue impact and mental health compared with controls. In addition, the exercise subgroup showed greater improvement than controls in self-selected walking speed.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: The authors concluded that a less intensive, more accessible approach to health promotion based on telephone counseling and motivational interviewing showed promise.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: The approach appears as a way for patients with MS to learn skills they can perform to help control their condition. It merits further study.

CH Bombardier et al. The efficacy of telephone counseling for health promotion in people with multiple sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 2008;89:1849-1856.