Providing a motivational interviewing (MI) informed intervention in conjunction with a cannabis drug urine screening for PICU service users: a feasibility project

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of a small, early-stage feasibility project that used a motivational interviewing (MI) informed intervention on a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes a MI informed intervention implemented on a PICU for service users who use cannabis. The intervention was evaluated using a feedback questionnaire post intervention. Due to the small number of service users (n=5) in the first cohort there is limited narrative and quantitative data available.

Findings

The project raised awareness for staff of the potential usefulness of applying MI informed interventions in a PICU setting. All participants stated the intervention should continue to be offered after the project. The intervention needs to be further developed with the possibility of it being used on an acute open ward environment with a larger cohort and consider the use of a randomised-controlled trial approach to validate the results.

Research limitations/implications

The small cohort (n=5) used for this feasibility project and the evaluation limited the opportunity to make general conclusions and recommendations. However, the learning gained can be applied to future applications.

Practical implications

Practitioners can consistently apply the MI informed intervention using templates as a guide when providing drug urine screening results.

Originality/value

The intervention is a novel approach. The authors found no literature on incorporating MI principles and skills with providing drug urine screening results on a PICU; the paper helps to address this dearth of clinical examples.

Citation

J. Green, A. and J. Joy, A. (2013), "Providing a motivational interviewing (MI) informed intervention in conjunction with a cannabis drug urine screening for PICU service users: a feasibility project", Advances in Dual Diagnosis, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1108/ADD-08-2013-0017