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. Resear...