Applying best practices for health disparities work to create a treatment adaptation framework for culturally diverse communities: A mixed-methods approach.

Abstract

Integrating best practices for health disparities to adapt evidence-based treatments is imperative to adequately meet the needs of diverse cultures, particularly ones that therapists can apply flexibility across multiple diverse communities. Using a mixed-methods, community-engaged approach, we examined how a range of community participants (N = 169) defined mental health, perceived barriers to treatment, and used culturally based coping methods to manage their mental health. Phase 1 (n = 49) included qualitative focus group data from five distinct racial/ethnic communities (African immigrants/refugees, Black/African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians). Phase 2 included quantitative surveys from members of four of these communities (n = 59) and the frontline providers serving them (n = 61). The communities and providers highlighted chronic worry and distress related to daily activities as primary treatment concerns. Further, this mixed-methods data informed our proposed best practice treatment adaptation framework using chronic worry as an example. The main aims of this study were to exemplify best practices for addressing mental health inequities in communities of color in terms of (a) conducting health disparities research and (b) applying a treatment adaptation framework for culturally responsive clinical care. Specific features of how this framework was conceived and applied provide a unique and critical view into integrating best practices to address health disparities in diverse communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).