Mediante un estudio cuasiexperimental se busco determinar si la entrevista motivacional como intervencion de enfermeria es efectiva para promover el autocuidado en los pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca de un hospital de cuarto nivel de Bogota entre enero y mayo del 2012. Con una muestra de 21 pacientes a quienes se les realizaron dos mediciones del autocuidado, una basal y otra posterior a la implementacion de la entrevista motivacional y el seguimiento telefonico (realizado 15 dias despues de la primera medicion), se determino si existio o no mejoria, utilizando como instrumento la Escala Europea de Autocuidado (EEA), la cual considera tres categorias: cumplimiento del regimen terapeutico, capacidad de adaptacion a la enfermedad y busqueda de ayuda ante la exacerbacion de los sintomas. Al emplear la prueba no parametrica del signo que esta centrada en la mediana, se obtuvo una probabilidad de 0,0207 (menor que 0,05), por lo que se infiere que la entrevista motivacional como intervencion de enfermeria es efectiva. De acuerdo con los tres parametros de la EEA, se evidencio un aumento global en el autocuidado, de medio a alto. La entrevista motivacional logro que los participantes del estudio realizaran actividades que favorecieran el autocuidado, lo que permitio que ellos mismos reconocieran que era benefico para su salud o que no.ABSTRACTBy way of a quasi-experimental study it was attempted to determine whether motivational interviews as a nursing intervention were effective in promoting self-care amongst patients with heart failure in a fourth-level hospital in Bogota, between January and May 2012. Two self-care assessments, a base one and a later one after the implementation of motivational interviews and telephone monitoring (15 days after the first assessment) were carried out among a sample of 21 patients. The degree of improvement was then calculated according to the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale (EHFScBS), which considers three categories: compliance with the therapeutic regimen, capability of adaptation to the disease and looking for help when symptoms aggravate. Applying the non-parametrical signed-rank test, which is centred in the median, we obtained a probability of 0.0207 (less than 0.05), and it is thus to be inferred that the motivational interview as a nursing intervention is effective. According to the EHFScBS’ three parameters, a general increase in self-care was observed, from medium to high. Motivational interviews brought the participants to implement activities that favour self-care, which allowed them to determine by themselves what was or was not beneficial to their health.