Adapted motivational interviewing for bariatric surgery patients: a pilot study

The current pilot trial examined the efficacy of a single-session Adapted Motivational Interviewing (AMI) protocol for improving outcomes for bariatric surgery patients. Forty-six post-operative patients from the Bariatric Surgery Program at Toronto Western Hospital were randomly assigned to either an AMI group (n = 23) or a wait list group (n = 23). From pre- to post-intervention, paired samples t-tests found that participants reported greater readiness and self-efficacy for change, as well as improvements to binge eating characteristics and to some measures of adherence to dietary guidelines at the 4-week follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVAs found that the behavioural changes were maintained over the 12-week follow-up but mixed model ANOVAs suggest that these changes may not be as marked next to patients receiving standard bariatric care. These preliminary findings suggest that AMI is an acceptable and feasible intervention that might be effective for some bariatric patients. Future research is warranted.