# Real-time Assessment of Dialogue in Motivational Interviewing training (ReadMI)

> **NIH AHRQ R21** · WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $118,134

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Substance misuse is inconsistently addressed in routine medical practice. Primary care physicians
frequently fail to diagnose substance abuse when presented with early symptoms of alcohol or drug use.
Patients report that less than one-third of primary care physicians carefully screen them for substance abuse,
in spite of available and effective screening protocols. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment
(SBIRT) is an integrated, evidence-based approach aimed at delivering early intervention for drug and alcohol
misuse in medical settings and has been demonstrated to reduce substance misuse. Motivational Interviewing
(MI), an underlying component of SBIRT, is an evidence-based, brief interventional approach that has been
demonstrated to be highly effective in triggering change in high-risk lifestyle behaviors. Unfortunately, the MI
approach is very difficult to teach to practitioners as it is counterintuitive to most providers who commonly take
a directive approach with patients. Because of ineffective training, MI and SBIRT are under-utilized.
 The primary goal of this project is to transform MI and SBIRT training with a software-based training
solution that analyzes practitioner responses and gives immediate feedback to improve MI skills. Our team has
been developing and testing a training tool that uses natural language processing (NLP) to provide Real-time
Assessment of Dialogue in Motivational Interviewing (ReadMI). ReadMI is a low cost, ultra-portable solution for
accurate and automatic real-time assessment of dialog during the course of MI training. It makes use of the
latest advances in deep-learning-based speech recognition and mobile and cloud computing technologies to
enable instantaneous MI training assessment and analysis. Currently functioning with 92% accuracy, ReadMI
provides immediate feedback to MI and SBIRT trainees regarding the number of open- and closed-ended
questions asked, provider-vs-patient conversation time, and other integral components of MI.
 ReadMI will advance the skill development of physicians and other healthcare professionals in their
use of MI and SBIRT, minimizing the need for time-consuming reviews of recorded training sessions. Our
aims are: 1) develop ReadMI to provide MI training metrics with 95% accuracy and 2) test ReadMI in a
randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 200 medical students and residents, 100 who will receive SBIRT/MI
training with ReadMI and 100 who will serve as the control group, receiving customary SBIRT/MI training.
 The prospective applications of ReadMI extend far beyond substance use disorder (SUD) prevention,
detection, and intervention. The effectiveness of all chronic disease management is largely dependent on
patient behavior. MI is a patient-focused conversation between the provider and the patient that reinforces the
patient's motivation to make positive changes in health-related behavior. By making efficient MI training
available to...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9980343
- **Project number:** 5R21HS026548-02
- **Recipient organization:** WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Paul J Hershberger
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $118,134
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9980343

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9980343, Real-time Assessment of Dialogue in Motivational Interviewing training (ReadMI) (5R21HS026548-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9980343. Licensed CC0.

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