Effects of Motivational Interviewing Training on Nursing Students' Counselling Skills, Self-Efficacy, and Reluctance

March 19, 2026 updated by: Yasemin Cekic, Ankara University

The Effect of Motivational Interviewing-Based Communication Training on Nursing Students' Counseling Skills, Self-Efficacy, and Reluctance in Communication

This research is designed to determine the effect of motivational interview-based communication training on nursing students' counselling skills, communication self-efficacy, and communication reluctance levels. The project will be conducted using a randomised controlled experimental design. The sample will consist of 72 second-year nursing students studying at the Department of Nursing, Ankara University Faculty of Nursing. Participants will be randomly assigned to experimental (n=36) and control (n=36) groups. The experimental group will receive motivational interview-based communication training, while the control group will receive training on basic communication and interpersonal interaction skills in nursing. The training will consist of five sessions; theoretical sessions will be 60 minutes each, and the standard patient interview practice to be applied to the experimental group will last three days. The standard patient interview practices will be conducted in the Communication Skills Laboratory of Ankara University Faculty of Nursing. The research data will be collected using a Demographic Information Form, the Counselling Skills Scale for Nurses, the Effective Communication Self-Efficacy Inventory, and the Communication Reluctance Scale, through pre-test, post-test, and follow-up measurements. Additionally, the project plans to train individuals to assume the role of a standard patient in the communication skills laboratory, creating a standard patient pool that can be used in future training and research. The project expects that motivational interview-based communication training will strengthen nursing students' counselling skills and communication self-efficacy, and reduce communication reluctance. The results are intended to provide a scientific contribution to the planning and development of communication training in nursing education programs.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The study population will consist of 745 nursing students studying at the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ankara University, and the sample will consist of 187 second-year nursing students. Since there was no pilot data, the sample size was determined using the G*Power 3.1 program. According to the power analysis, for a two-group design with three repeated measures, the number of participants was calculated as at least 66, with a type 1 error of 0.05, a power of 0.90, and a moderate effect size (0.25). To prevent possible data loss, the sample size was increased by approximately 10%, bringing the total number of participants to 72. A total of 72 students, 36 in the experimental group and 36 in the control group, will be randomly included in the study. Data Collection Process: In the first stage of the study, in order to create a standard patient pool and to determine the standard patients to be trained in the standard patient application phase of the project, a call for participation will be made to students of the Department of Theatre at the Faculty of Language and History-Geography, Ankara University, through the department, including the participation conditions. Volunteer students who fill out the participation form via Google Forms will attend the training given by the researchers at the Faculty of Nursing to receive standard patient training. In the next phase of the research, students will be invited to participate after being informed about the scope and content of the research. Students interested in participating in the research will be evaluated according to the inclusion criteria, and the contact information of the students who meet the criteria will be collected to form a group. In the next phase, the students in this group will be randomly assigned to groups: 36 students in the experimental group and 36 students in the control group. Students in both the experimental and control groups who agree to participate in the study and fill out the voluntary consent form will be given data collection tools as a pre-test face-to-face. Then, students will be randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group will receive "Motivational Interview-Based Communication Training." The control group will receive "Basic Communication and Interpersonal Interaction Skills in Nursing" training, the content of which is provided in the appendix, face-to-face. The control group's training will consist of a total of five sessions, each lasting 60 minutes. The experimental group's training will consist of four 60-minute theoretical sessions and one practical session involving interviewing a standard patient. The standard patient application session will last three days. For these sessions, a total of six standard patients will be used from the pool created at the beginning of the research: three primary and three reserve patients who wish to participate in the application. The participants will be trained by researchers on the scenarios, and three of them will serve as standard patients in the interview sessions. Standard patient interviews will be conducted in three standard patient interview rooms located in the communication skills laboratory. A total of 18 interviews will be conducted: six in each room in the morning and six in each room in the afternoon. Thus, the interviews of 36 students in the experimental group for one scenario will be completed in one day. After the morning interviews are completed, the recordings of one of the interviews from that session will be reviewed with the participation of the research team and the students who completed their interviews, and analysis sessions will be held based on feedback. The same process will be applied to the second and third scenarios. Immediately after all training sessions are completed, data collection tools will be administered to both groups as a final test, and follow-up measurements will be taken after three months. All stages of the study will be conducted face-to-face. The data collection process will be carried out in coordination with the faculty members to accommodate the students' schedules and not disrupt the coursework.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
72

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Yasemin Çekiç Associate Professor, PhD
  • Phone Number: +90 544 771 99 97
  • Email: ycekic@ankara.edu.tr

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Ankara
      • Ankara, Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye), 06340
        • Ankara University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being a second-year nursing student
  • Volunteering to participate in the research
  • Not having communication problems that would prevent answering data collection forms

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having communication problems that would prevent answering data collection forms
  • Being a 1st, 3rd or 4th year nursing student

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Experimental Group
Participants in the experimental group will receive a structured communication training program based on motivational interviewing principles. The program will consist of five sessions, including theoretical instruction, role-play exercises, and skill practice activities aimed at improving counselling skills, communication self-efficacy, and reducing reluctance in communication.
Behavioral: Motivational Interviewing Communication Training
Participants in the experimental group will receive a structured communication training program based on motivational interviewing principles. The program will consist of five weekly sessions. The first four sessions will be conducted as theoretical and interactive training, including lectures, group discussions, and skill-based exercises. The final session will be conducted in a communication skills lab and will involve role-playing and practical counseling skills practice using simulated scenarios and standardized patients.
Active Comparator: Control Group
Participants in the control group will receive face-to-face training on basic communication and interpersonal interaction skills in nursing. This training will be delivered using standard educational methods, including lectures and interactive discussions. Participants in this group will not receive motivational interviewing-based communication training during the study period.
Behavioral: Basic Communication and Interpersonal Interaction Skills Training in Nursing
Participants in the control group will receive a traditional communication training program consisting of five theoretical sessions. The sessions will include lectures on fundamental communication and interpersonal interaction skills in nursing. Motivational interviewing techniques or structured skills practice sessions will not be included. Each session will last approximately 60 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Counselling Skills Level
Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Intervention, 3-Month Follow-up
Counselling Skills Scale for Nurses: The scale consists of 10 items and a single factor. It uses a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never, 5 = Always). The minimum possible score is 10, and the maximum is 50. A higher overall score indicates better consulting skills. The reliability coefficient of the scale is Cronbach's alpha 0.88.
Baseline, Immediately Post-Intervention, 3-Month Follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Communication Self-Efficacy
Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Intervention, 3-Month Follow-up
Effective Communication Self-Efficacy Inventory: The inventory consists of three sub-dimensions: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. It is a 41-item inventory scored on a Likert scale from 1 to 5 (1: I'm not well at all, 5: I'm very well). The lowest possible score is 41, and the highest is 205. Higher scores indicate greater self-efficacy in effective communication. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) results for the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor subscales showed Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficients of α=0.92, α=0.92, and α=0.87, respectively. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results showed Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficients of α=0.89, α=0.90, and α=0.83, respectively.
Baseline, Immediately Post-Intervention, 3-Month Follow-up
Reluctance in Communication
Time Frame: Baseline, Immediately Post-Intervention, 3-Month Follow-up
Communication Reluctance Scale: The scale consists of two sub-dimensions, approach-avoidance and reward, and a total of 20 statements. The scale uses a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree). The lowest possible score is 20, and the highest is 100. A higher total score indicates greater communication reluctance. The reliability coefficient of the scale is Cronbach's alpha 0.95.
Baseline, Immediately Post-Intervention, 3-Month Follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Ankara University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 16, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 25, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 19, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • AU-YC-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be publicly shared due to confidentiality and privacy considerations. Data will be available from the corresponding investigator upon reasonable request.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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