Improving cardiovascular health with motivational interviewing: A nurse practitioner perspective.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide nurse practitioners (NPs) with an evidence-based counseling strategy for motivating patients to adopt healthier cardiovascular lifestyles and reduce their cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. A comprehensive overview of motivational interviewing (MI), framed within the context of the transtheoretical model of change (TTM), demonstrates how primary care NPs can utilize this counseling approach to optimize cardiovascular outcomes in their patients.

Data Sources: Published original research and review articles in scholarly journals on the following topics: MI; advice giving; counseling techniques; TTM; CVD; quality NP care.