Facilitators and barriers in the implementation of a culturally adapted Arabic version of Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) among Palestinian Arabs in Israel

Sara Daass-Iraqi, Paula Garber-Epstein, David Roe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) program has been implemented in several countries including Israel. This study examines, from the perspective of Arab practitioners, facilitators and barriers in the implementation of a culturally-adapted version of the IMR intervention among Arabs with serious mental illness in Israel. Fourteen Arab practitioners who had delivered the culturally adapted IMR were interviewed. The analysis of the interviews identified facilitators and barriers, divided into universal factors found when implementing the intervention elsewhere in the world, and culture-specific ones. Facilitators included the manual on which the intervention was based, bypassing verbal communication, ongoing supervision during implementation, the group process, co-facilitation and the cultural adaptations. The barriers included three universal ones: Meeting needs beyond IMR due to service shortage, Reputation is everything: Self- and social stigma and Pulling the others back: Difficulties in reading and writing—and one that was culture-specific: family over-involvement. Identifying facilitators and barriers in the implementation of the adapted IMR can contribute to the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the mental health area. Notably, multiple culture-specific facilitators have been identified, as opposed to only one culture-specific barrier, suggesting that cultural differences may be overcome in implementing EBPs developed in the West.

Original languageEnglish
JournalTranscultural Psychiatry
Early online date1 May 2023
DOIs
StateE-pub ahead of print - 1 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article is part of the first author's requirements for a PhD. I am grateful to the Laszlo N. Tauber Foundation for its generous scholarship support. I am also indebted to our partners in the cultural adaptation process and the implementation from Ministry of Health, Ono Academic College, and JDC Israel.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.

Keywords

  • culture adaptations
  • evidence-based practice (EBP)
  • Illness Management and Recovery (IMR)
  • mental health
  • Palestinian-Arabs in Israel

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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