April 2020

A growing body of literature suggests that lack of cultural adaptations in behavioral interventions is associated with disparities in service use and poor intervention outcomes among diverse minoritized communities. The Diversity Center is happy to announce a research database of cultural adaptions of behavioral health interventions as part of the Center’s curriculum resources in Practice with Diverse Communities. The research database includes:

• An annotated bibliography of published research on adaptations ranging from basic language translation, to the involvement of community members in the provision of services, to more fundamental restructuring of methods of care. Each reference contains information on the behavioral health condition, target population, intervention, cultural adaptation, research method, and major finding. 
• A set of abstracts of articles addressing important conceptual considerations regarding quality cultural adaptation of evidence-based behavioral interventions. These include the rationale for adaptation, approaches to adaptations, and implementation issues such as sustainability.

The purpose of this resource is to support teaching in social work practice grounded in the lived experiences of communities, including their cultural backgrounds. Research consistently shows that culture and social context influence almost every aspect of assessment and treatment.