CULTURAL ADAPTATION OF HEALTHY BEGINNINGS

We are currently running a small trial (a pilot, feasibility study) to culturally adapt the Healthy Beginnings CHAT study to make it relevant to different cultural groups, so that their children and families can also access and gain benefit from the program. The aim of this study is to take the materials from the CHAT Healthy Beginnings study and adapt it to two language / cultural groups: Arabic and Chinese Mandarin, as these are the two mostly widely spoken languages in Sydney Local Health District, after English.

WHAT IS INVOLVED

Stage 1:
Interviews with health care professionals and discussions with Mandarin and Arabic-speaking mothers to inform changes to the program.

Stage 2:
Cultural adaption of the booklets, text messages and telephone support to guide healthy behaviours from before birth through to baby’s first 6 months. This involves conducting focus group discussions, combined with findings from health worker interviews, to understand the barriers to the particular behaviours promoted, modifying the existing resources and translating into Arabic or Mandarin, to make the program more meaningful for these particular cultural groups, while maintaining the program’s key messages.

Stage 3:
Recruitment of Arabic-speaking and Mandarin-speaking women in their third trimester. The project will aim to recruit 60 women from each language group. The women will be sent the adapted program resources and provided SMS and telephone support for up to 6 months post-birth. Presentation of preliminary findings and resources developed and feedback from relevant stakeholders.

Stage 4:
Evaluation and recommendations for scaling-up the project for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.