Alleviating psychosocial distress in drug-resistant tuberculosis

A pre-post study on telephone-delivered motivational interviewing

Bibliographic Data

ID22079660
AuthorsFanghui Xie (0009-0003-0550-8401, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu), En Xie (0000-0003-0119-5295, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu), Enchun Xie (Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu), Xiaoyi Yang (0000-0003-4009-0891, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu), Bin Wan (0000-0001-9077-3354, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, corresponding author), Rong Yao (0000-0001-5617-5393, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume14
Pages1817457-1817457
Publication date2026-05-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2026.1817457
PMID42180474
OpenAlexW7160528314
LanguageEN
References cited41

Objective This pilot feasibility study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a telephone-delivered motivational interviewing (MI) intervention in alleviating loneliness, depressive symptoms, and anxiety among patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Methods Employing a single-group pre-post design, 74 DR-TB patients were recruited from the tuberculosis wards of Chengdu Public Health Clinical Medical Center between January and December 2021. Participants underwent a 12-week MI-based telephone intervention, with assessments at baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 16). Primary outcomes included changes in psychological measures using validated instruments: the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA). Secondary outcomes encompassed sleep quality, assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and medication adherence, defined as a binary outcome based on pill count. Results The intervention significantly reduced loneliness (UCLA-LS: 47.23 ± 10.14 → 40.23 ± 12.76, p 0.05, McNemar’s test). Conclusion This pilot pre-post study provides preliminary evidence that telephone-delivered MI is associated with improved psychological outcomes in DR-TB patients. The findings support its promise as an accessible intervention, but the exploratory design necessitates further investigation through controlled trials to confirm efficacy and establish causal inference

Anxiety · Brief intervention · Distress · Loneliness · Motivational interviewing · Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index · Psychological intervention · Psychosocial · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Sleep and related disorders

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