Substance use disorders (SUDs) pose a significant public health challenge in Brazil, as they do in many parts of the world. Research consistently shows that treatment for SUDs tends to be more effective when adapted to the cultural context of the individuals receiving care. However, most evidence-based interventions are developed in North America and subsequently exported to other countries, often without sufficient attention to cultural differences.
The process of culturally adapting these interventions is poorly understood and rarely thoroughly documented. This presentation will describe our efforts to culturally adapt and implement a family-based Motivational Interviewing (MI) intervention for Brazilian families. Specifically, we focus on families in which one member is affected by a substance use disorder and another family member participates in their treatment sessions. Additionally, we will present our preliminary outcomes from families that received the intervention.
Doug Smith (Ph.D., LCSW) is Professor of Social Work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on creating and testing substance use interventions.
