Impact of Motivational Interviewing by Social Workers on Service Users: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose: This systematic review was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI), by social workers, on service user outcomes. Methods: A literature search was undertaken between 2007 and 2018. All eligible studies were analyzed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. As heterogeneity was high, a narrative synthesis approach was employed, using thematic analysis for categorizing data. Results: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. MI had a positive effect on service user experience, but this was not consistent. Training was variable, but the evidence suggests that practitioner’s need ongoing training, supervision, or coaching while providing MI. Discussion: There is a paucity of research examining the impact of MI on children, which was a limitation of this review. There is a need for more qualitative research to surface views and experience of service users to determine why MI is effective.

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to walking group exercise in older people living with dementia in the community: a systematic review

“…We conducted a narrative analysis as heterogeneity of findings was found to be high, similar to our previous work in this field [ 24 , 28 , 29 ]. Firstly, a preliminary synthesis was conducted to develop an initial description of the findings of included records and to organise them so that patterns across records could be identified [ 30 ].…”

“…Narrative synthesis is a commonly used method to synthesise data in the context of a systematic review [ 25 – 27 ]. This approach has been used by the authors successfully in the past [ 24 , 28 , 29 ], especially as we included and appraised mixed methods papers: systematic review, qualitative, quantitative and mixed studies and grey literature. Thematic analysis provided the means of identifying relevant themes (based on the review question) across large and diverse bodies of research [ 30 – 32 ].…”

A systematic review of parenting interventions used by social workers to support vulnerable children

“…In a second step, thematic analysis was used to analyze the findings. The following five steps of thematic analysis were followed adopting a recursive process (Higgins et al, 2019):…”

“…Risk of bias. Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool (Higgins et al, 2019), which includes the following domains: random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of outcome assessors, completeness of outcome data, and selective outcome reporting, respectively, and discussed by the authoring team during regular meetings in the data extraction phase (Tables 3 and 4). The results of the risk of bias assessment were incorporated into the findings (the narratives of the review) and limitations sections.…”

“…This study is the third in a series of systematic reviews looking at the nature and quality of knowledge and interventions in social work (Boyle et al, 2019; Woodman-Worrell & Higgins, 2018).…”