Healthcare providers are needed to participate in an online survey as part of research being conducted at Baylor College of Medicine that is exploring the influence of primary care practitioners in patient health behavior change.

Primary care practitioners can influence patient behaviors that impact health outcomes because of their long-term relationships and high-frequency contacts with individuals, but it is not well understood what factors influence clinicians' use of effective methods, explained Dr. Robert McLaughlin, assistant dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences at Baylor and principal investigator of the study.

The survey will gather views regarding patient counseling by primary care practitioners in order to facilitate change in risk behaviors that affect acute and chronic health outcomes.

This anonymous survey will assess the current level of awareness and training among primary care providers in health behavioral counseling, how often it is used, obstacles to its use, opinions of effectiveness and knowledge about reimbursement for time spent with patients conducting behavior counseling. The anticipated time to complete the anonymous electronic questionnaire is 2 to 3 minutes.

The study is targeting physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology.

The survey can be completed online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BCM_MotivationalInterviewing