Motivational Interviewing for CPAP Adherence

Background: Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP), is the gold standard for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment. If left untreated, patients with OSA can experience serious and potentially life-threatening consequences. However, patient CPAP adherence is an ongoing problem, as compliance rates are historically low (typically 30-60%). Engaging patients in motivational interviewing (MI) by trained providers could promote increased CPAP adherence.Question/Purpose: Assess CPAP compliance in patients who receive motivational interviewing compared to a control attention intervention.Methods: A team of medical students were trained in MI interviewing techniques through a novel training protocol. The training protocol includes reading articles and watching training videos regarding MI, observing CPAP patient education visits, and a cumulative training assessment. MI delivered via 9 phone calls over 3 months will be used in a pilot study on ten patients newly prescribed CPAP for OSA. CPAP adherence rates will be measured compared to control.Results: Results are forthcoming for this study. However, the novel training protocol has been implemented successfully, with 11 medical students trained to provide MI to CPAP patients. We expect to see increased CPAP adherence rates in patients receiving MI compared to control.Discussion: Poor CPAP adherence can have severe and potentially life-threatening consequences on patient health. Adding MI to patient care could significantly improve long and short-term patient health outcomes for OSA patients. Another important benefit of the novel MI training protocol is that medical students participating in MI training can utilize the technique with future patients, potentially increasing compliance with recommended health interventions across multiple disease states.