Cognitive Behavioral and eHealth Approaches to Promote Engagement in Treatment

Numerous cognitive behavioral strategies exist to increase patient engagement in treatment and disease self-management. In the current chapter, we briefly review some of the traditional cognitive behavioral approaches for increasing patient engagement in treatment and illness self-management from the perspective of behavioral self-regulation theory. We then review how rapidly emerging developments in eHealth have shaped and extended the utilization of cognitive behavioral strategies. Finally, we review the basic tenets of motivational interviewing (MI), which is primarily delivered in clinic settings and has been established as a “front line” tool for the healthcare provider to elicit patient engagement in treatment delivery and behavioral change. Each of these areas have spawned burgeoning literatures that have provided considerable evidence regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of these strategies in many patient populations and healthcare contexts.