Community Collaborative Cultural Adaptation: Creating Culturally Appropriate Behavioral Interventions through University and Community Collaborations

Abstract

University and community collaborations have great potential to develop culturally adapted evidence- based interventions. However, little guidance is available on effective approaches for creating and implementing such partnerships specifically to culturally adapt interventions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce Community Collaborative Cultural Adaptation (CCCA), an approach for engaging community members as partners in the cultural adaptation of an evidence based intervention. CCCA is illustrated through the cultural adaptation of a behavioral intervention aimed at reducing unsafe sex among teen girls. The approach includes the following three stages: (1) preparatory (i.e., community engagement, recruitment of community members to the research team, orientation); (2) cultural adaptation (recruitment of target group for participation in and evaluation of mock demonstrations of both the generic and later the culturally adapted versions) and (3) final revision, pilot testing, and sustainability. The paper also includes a discussion of lessons learned in forming a university and community collaboration and strategies for addressing some challenges the team encountered in implementing CCCA.