Abstract Body: Objective: To determine the association between motivational interviewing (MI) training for pediatricians and the parental or guardian’s uptake of wellness coaching during the Wellness Coaching for Kids implementation.
Methods: Pediatricians from 24 (of 49) randomly assigned pediatric clinics across Southern California were trained in MI to motivate eligible parents and children to engage in health coaching to improve health behaviors. Eligible children were 3 to 8 years at referral, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile for age. Two years after the program started, we analyzed the proportion of parents/guardians who engaged in wellness coaching after referral by the MI-training status of pediatricians.
Results: Among 233 pediatricians from 24 intervention clinics, 53% (n=123) participated in MI training, and 44% (n=102) referred at least one parent to wellness coaching. Out of 19,888 eligible children with a well-child visit, 10.3% (n=2045) were referred to wellness coaching (=reached). The reach was higher in MI-trained compared to untrained pediatricians (20.4±10.1% and 7.0±10.2%, respectively, p=0.003). Among those referred, 49.9% (n=1021) scheduled a coaching appointment, and 43.3% (n=886) received at least one coaching call (=uptake). The uptake of patients with MI-trained pediatricians was significantly higher (aOR 2.3; 95%CI 1.4, 3.6) than the uptake of patients with untrained pediatricians from intervention practices.
Conclusion: Parental uptake of wellness coaching was higher when referred by MI-trained pediatricians suggesting MI can be successful for brief interventions to engage patients to initiate health behaviors and lifestyle change treatment related to childhood obesity in primary care.