Motivational interviewing: Exploring its relevance for improving family medicine trainees' motivation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The need for scaling up training to attain a critical mass of family physicians in Africa was affirmed in 2012 by participants at the African Regional Conference of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) and at the workshop organised by the Primary Health Care and Family Medicine Education (PRIMAFAMED) Network. Significant progress has been made regarding this. However, trainers often encounter postgraduate trainees who show ambivalence towards completing their training. This has impacted on the number of those who complete their training, and on the goal of achieving a sufficient number of family physicians needed in the region. Motivational Interviewing has been used in clinical and academic settings to address issues that require behavioural change. The principles can be adopted by family medicine trainers in sub-Saharan Africa to resolve trainees' ambivalence towards their training, improve motivation towards completion of their postgraduate training and their intention to practice within the region.

Keywords: Motivational Interviewing, Postgraduate Family Medicine Trainees, Ambivalence, sub -Saharan Africa