Translation and validation of the evidence-based practice attitude scale (EBPAS-15) to Brazilian Portuguese: Examining providers’ perspective about evidence-based parent intervention

Abstract

BackgroundFew existing evidence-based parent interventions (EBPIs) for prevention and treatment of child and youth mental health disorders are implemented in low-middle-income countries. This study aimed to translate and confirm the factor structure of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS-15) survey in Brazilian Portuguese with the goal of examining providers’ perspective about EBPIs. MethodsWe translated and back translated the EBPAS-15 from English to Brazilian Portuguese. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling and data were collected using an online survey from July of 2018 through January of 2020. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine if the scale retained its original structure. Open-ended questions about providers’ perspectives of their own clinical practice were coded using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Analyses included data from 362 clinicians (318 women, 41 men) from 20 of the 27 states of Brazil. Participants on average were 26.7 years old, held specialist degrees in the field of psychology, actively worked as therapists, and practiced in private clinics. ResultsThe translation of the EBPAS to Brazilian Portuguese retained the same four-factor structure as the English version except for dropping one item from the Divergence domain. When asked about the challenges in their practices, providers generally referred to parents as clients with little skills to discipline their children and lacking knowledge about child development. DiscussionThe Brazilian version of the EBPAS-15 is promising, but future research should consider using quantitative data alongside qualitative information to better understand providers’ attitudes about evidence-based interventions to inform implementation efforts.Trial registration. N/A.