Training Healthcare Providers in Motivational Communication: Do We Know What We Are Doing?

Regular physical activity (PA) is essential for secondary and tertiary prevention of cardiometabolic risk factors and disease, but low adherence to PA recommendations is common. Motivational communication (MC) shows promise for promoting PA adherence. However dissemination of MC strategies has been limited. We discuss preliminary considerations for training individuals in the use of MC. Future work is needed to establish what constitutes competent MC training to impact cardiometabolic health outcomes. Can-Change members Dr. Tavis Campbell, Dr. Simon Bacon, Dr. Kim Corace, Dr. Kim L. Lavoie, and Dr. Michael Vallis contributed to this article.