Cultural Adaptation Process for International Dissemination of the Strengthening Families Program

Abstract

The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) is an evidence-based family skills training intervention developed and found efficacious for substance abuse prevention by U.S researchers in the 1980s. In the 1990s, a cultural adaptation process was developed to transport SFP for effectiveness trials with diverse populations (African, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American). Since 2003, SFP has been culturally adapted for use in 17 countries. This article reviews the SFP theory and research and a recommended cultural adaptation process. Challenges in international dissemination of evidence-based programs (EBPs) are discussed based on the results of U.N. and U.S. governmental initiatives to transport EBP family interventions to developing countries. The technology transfer and quality assurance system are described, including the language translation and cultural adaptation process for materials development, staff training, and on-site and online Web-based supervision and technical assistance and evaluation services to assure quality implementation and process evaluation feedback for improvements.

El enfoque de la competencia familiar, una experiencia de trabajo socioeducativo con familias

“…The outcomes of the implementations carried out in the Spanish adaptation, in their implementation in primary care social services, are as consistent as the ones offered by the SFP in benchmark implementations and in international adaptations (Kumpfer and Alvarado, 2003;Kumpfer, et al 2008), showing their effectiveness along the same lines as these studies.…”

“…Los resultados de las aplicaciones realizadas en la adaptación española, en su aplicación en los servicios sociales de atención primaria, son tan consistentes como los ofrecidos por los del SFP en las aplicaciones de referencia y en las adaptaciones internacionales (Kumpfer y Alvarado, 2003;Kumpfer, et al 2008), mostrando su eficacia de acuerdo a dichos estudios.…”

Commentary – Adapting and retesting evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs: a case study in Canada

“…There is a consensus among the different models and frameworks for cross-cultural and crosscontext adaptation that it is critical to maintain fidelity to the essential-or causally effective-components of the intervention so that it preserves its effectiveness in the new setting. 7,[16][17][18][19] To do so, however, requires these components be empirically identified through methods such as decomposing trials, mediational analyses and micro-trials. 20 The extent to which the 18 model elements specified by the NFP are causally effective and how faithfully they each have to be implemented before the intervention begins to lose its effectiveness remain unclear.…”

Is Environment Really A Function?

“…Rather, it seems-when applying innovative statistical methodologies (Brown et al 2011;Muthén et al 2002)-that universal prevention can be more beneficial for the more vulnerable subgroups. Recent evaluations of universal prevention programs have shown such effects on the more vulnerable children in elementary school (Kellam et al 2008); some selective family based programs seem to be more effective the more vulnerable the targeted families are (Kumpfer et al 2008); a school-based program, evaluated in seven European countries under the EU-DAP trial, showed a more favorable effect on problematic drinking among students in underprivileged social environments (Caria et al 2011); and the evaluation of an alcohol prevention program in both school and family settings combined (Koning et al 2012) found that the more vulnerable subgroups within the universal target population benefited more from the intervention. This might be due to vulnerable subgroups adjusting their behavior to that of the "conventional" majority.…”