Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations

Cultural aspects, such as cultural values and specific stressors, need to be considered in intervention development of care.11 Resnicow, K. (1999). Cultural sensitivity in public health: defined and demystified. Ethnicity & Disease. One study looked at the relevance and necessity of cultural...

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Main Authors: Lyla Schwartz, Donja Brunner, Eva Unternährer, Christina Stadler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-01-01
Series:Journal of Migration and Health
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623522000575
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author Lyla Schwartz
Donja Brunner
Eva Unternährer
Christina Stadler
author_facet Lyla Schwartz
Donja Brunner
Eva Unternährer
Christina Stadler
author_sort Lyla Schwartz
collection DOAJ
description Cultural aspects, such as cultural values and specific stressors, need to be considered in intervention development of care.11 Resnicow, K. (1999). Cultural sensitivity in public health: defined and demystified. Ethnicity & Disease. One study looked at the relevance and necessity of cultural adaptation in mental health interventions, and the results were conclusive. They found that for populations the intervention was not designed for, treatment was less effective than for the target population.22 Benish, S.G. (2011). Culturally adapted psychotherapy and the legitimacy of myth: a direct-comparison meta analysis. Journal of Counselling Psychology. Existing mental health programs well established in developed countries, with a low-threshold for quality care and a flexible delivery of the care, have shown to be less effective for marginalized populations and refugees, where linguistic and cultural barriers still exist. These barriers include limited understanding of treatment, a lack of knowledge on the healthcare systems in host countries, and the lack of interpreters or programs available in their native language.33 Marrone, S. (2007). Understanding barriers to health care: a review of disparities in health care services among indigneous populations. International Journal of Circumpolar Health. A promising approach for culturally-informed treatment are short skills-training interventions, designed to help participants better cope with stress and build up resilience to successfully deal with new challenges. START NOW is an evidence-based integrative skills training program and an effective treatment for vulnerable adolescents in demanding situations. We designed a total of eleven characters and fifthteen storylines that reflect the negative experiences commonly experienced by the target beneficiaries, and then conducted content testing to identify the most relatable among them. By conducting content testing, we can culturally adapt the START NOW program to meet the needs of Persian and Afghans migrants, informed by the very community that the program seeks to help. The results identified the six most relatable characters and twelve most relatable storylines, which will go on to feature in START NOW intervention sessions, and improve outcomes in testing the adapted program's efficacy with participants in Switzerland. This study provided a greater understanding of the challenges and emotions experienced by Persian and Afghan migrants, and enables us to design an effective, culturally-relevant treatment to address symptoms of poor mental health amongst this population. We can now replicate this process when adapting evidence-based treatments for other populations in need.
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spelling doaj.art-9bc5c73481f24455b3dceb4183468a962022-12-22T03:01:00ZengElsevierJournal of Migration and Health2666-62352022-01-016100134Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populationsLyla Schwartz0Donja Brunner1Eva Unternährer2Christina Stadler3Corresponding author at: Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27; Universitare Psychiatrische Kliniken, University of Basel, 4002 Basel, SwitzerlandUniversitare Psychiatrische Kliniken, University of Basel, 4002 Basel, SwitzerlandUniversitare Psychiatrische Kliniken, University of Basel, 4002 Basel, SwitzerlandUniversitare Psychiatrische Kliniken, University of Basel, 4002 Basel, SwitzerlandCultural aspects, such as cultural values and specific stressors, need to be considered in intervention development of care.11 Resnicow, K. (1999). Cultural sensitivity in public health: defined and demystified. Ethnicity & Disease. One study looked at the relevance and necessity of cultural adaptation in mental health interventions, and the results were conclusive. They found that for populations the intervention was not designed for, treatment was less effective than for the target population.22 Benish, S.G. (2011). Culturally adapted psychotherapy and the legitimacy of myth: a direct-comparison meta analysis. Journal of Counselling Psychology. Existing mental health programs well established in developed countries, with a low-threshold for quality care and a flexible delivery of the care, have shown to be less effective for marginalized populations and refugees, where linguistic and cultural barriers still exist. These barriers include limited understanding of treatment, a lack of knowledge on the healthcare systems in host countries, and the lack of interpreters or programs available in their native language.33 Marrone, S. (2007). Understanding barriers to health care: a review of disparities in health care services among indigneous populations. International Journal of Circumpolar Health. A promising approach for culturally-informed treatment are short skills-training interventions, designed to help participants better cope with stress and build up resilience to successfully deal with new challenges. START NOW is an evidence-based integrative skills training program and an effective treatment for vulnerable adolescents in demanding situations. We designed a total of eleven characters and fifthteen storylines that reflect the negative experiences commonly experienced by the target beneficiaries, and then conducted content testing to identify the most relatable among them. By conducting content testing, we can culturally adapt the START NOW program to meet the needs of Persian and Afghans migrants, informed by the very community that the program seeks to help. The results identified the six most relatable characters and twelve most relatable storylines, which will go on to feature in START NOW intervention sessions, and improve outcomes in testing the adapted program's efficacy with participants in Switzerland. This study provided a greater understanding of the challenges and emotions experienced by Persian and Afghan migrants, and enables us to design an effective, culturally-relevant treatment to address symptoms of poor mental health amongst this population. We can now replicate this process when adapting evidence-based treatments for other populations in need.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623522000575
spellingShingle Lyla Schwartz
Donja Brunner
Eva Unternährer
Christina Stadler
Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations
Journal of Migration and Health
title Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations
title_full Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations
title_fullStr Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations
title_full_unstemmed Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations
title_short Feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict-affected populations
title_sort feasibility and relatability of cultural adaptation amongst conflict affected populations
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666623522000575
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AT christinastadler feasibilityandrelatabilityofculturaladaptationamongstconflictaffectedpopulations