(D33) Motivational Interviewing for Sensitive Conversations about Weight and Medication Taking

Sunday, August 9, 2026

4:40 PM - 5:25 PM ET

CE: .75 CE

Knowing what to say and how to say it can influence a practitioner's decision-making for starting a conversation about a sensitive topic like weight management. For individuals with obesity in today's vast expansion of medication options for weight management, continually taking those medications as prescribed is a key health behavior for achieving desired outcomes. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based strategy set for DCESs 'gearing up' for sensitive weight management and medication-taking conversations. This session provides case examples, conversation starters, and additional resources for those who desire to be at the forefront of starting and sustaining conversations that support persons with obesity seeking weight management support and health risk reduction.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

Identify differences in the righting reflex and the person-centered 'Spirit of MI' in communication examples.
Recognize MI-consistent and MI-inconsistent dialog examples.
Apply Mi-consistent conversation starters for discussing general weight management and taking weight management medications according to prescription.

Disclosure(s):

Jan Kavookjian, PhD, MBA, FAPhA, FADCES: AspenRx: Consultant / Advisory Board (Ongoing), Development of pharmacist MI-based education materials for telephonic Comprehensive Medication Review or Targeted Medication Review (Ongoing); Breakthrough T1D: Development of HCP education video and materials for using MI to talk with individuals about T1D screening (Terminated, June 30, 2025); MannKind, LLC: MI training for MannKind MSLs for talking with providers (Terminated, September 10, 2025)

Primary Presenter(s)

Jan Kavookjian, PhD, MBA, FAPhA, FADCES

Associate Professor of Health Outcomes Research and Policy
Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy

Disclosure(s): AspenRx: Consultant / Advisory Board (Ongoing), Development of pharmacist MI-based education materials for telephonic Comprehensive Medication Review or Targeted Medication Review (Ongoing); Breakthrough T1D: Development of HCP education video and materials for using MI to talk with individuals about T1D screening (Terminated, June 30, 2025); MannKind, LLC: MI training for MannKind MSLs for talking with providers (Terminated, September 10, 2025)