Motivational Interviewing to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in African American and Latina Women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women, and disproportionally so for African American and Latina women. CVD is largely preventable and many risks can be attributable to health behaviors, implementing and sustaining positive health behaviors is a challenge. Motivational interviewing is one promising intervention for initiating behavior change. The purpose of this review was to identify, synthesize, and critically analyze the existing literature on the use of motivational interviewing as a behavioral intervention to reduce CVD risk among African American and Latina women. Seven studies were identified that met inclusion criteria. Results of this review suggest that motivational interviewing has mixed results when used to reduce cardiovascular risk factors in African American and Latina women. More research using a standardized motivational interviewing approach is needed to definitively determine if it is an effective behavioral intervention to reduce CVD risk when used in populations of African American and Latina women.