School nurses can play an integral role in preventive health, including the prevention of obesity in children. The objective of this study is to determine if school nurses can successfully use motivational interviewing in counseling sessions with overweight students to decrease childhood obesity. For the purpose of the qualitative study, nurses were trained in motivational interviewing and children were selected based on age and their body mass index (BMI). By using the motivational interview, school nurses were able to overcome barriers in communication and confidence, and allow students and their parents to come to their own conclusions about weight. However, when the parent’s decision about their child’s weight differed from the nurse’s screening, it created an ethical dilemma for the nurse. Overall, motivational interviewing would not be a practical method of obesity prevention based on the time and resources needed for the nurse to have one on one counseling sessions. •
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This study focused on the nurse’s perception of how the motivational interviewing went. Additionally, there was no direction given to the nurses on how to deal with the dilemmas they faced with their conflicting views with the parents. This could have affected the nurse’s perception of those interviews that resulted in a
This study focused on the nurse’s perception of how the motivational interviewing went. Additionally, there was no direction given to the nurses on how to deal with the dilemmas they faced with their conflicting views with the parents. This could have affected the nurse’s perception of those interviews that resulted in a