Motivating behavioural change during client consultations is of crucial importance across all health professions to address the growing burden of chronic conditions. Yet health professionals often lack the skills and confidence to use evidence-based counselling interventions to support clients’ behaviour change and mobilise clients’ resources and self-efficacy for change to address their long-term needs.

This project aims to develop and pilot test an online Motivational Interviewing (MI) virtual-patient training tool to provide health professionals with an accessible, cost effective training resource for the development and maintenance of MI competence. The main research contributions will be the design and validation of a conversational agent with health professionals providing support to people with chronic conditions.

The student will need skills to undertake simple desktop / app development, and conduct a controlled trial of the online app in the Tonsley Smart Home setting, with health professionals working in chronic condition self-management support roles. Students should have an academic background from any of the following disciplines: Computing, Engineering, Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Allied Health, or Sociology. The project is part of an ARC funded transformational research Hub and a full scholarship will be available for a PhD candidate. Honours and Masters sub-projects are also available.

Co-Supervisors: Prof Anthony Maeder, College of Nursing & Health Sciences (08)82013107 anthony.maeder@flinders.edu.au & Professor David Powers, College of Science & Engineering (08)82013663 david.powers@flinders.edu.au; Dr Candice Oster, College of Medicine and Public Health, candice.oster@flinders.edu.au