A Research Practitioner's Perspective on Culturally Relevant Prevention

Abstract

This article is a response to a number of articles that use a culturally relevant prevention (CRP) approach for ethnic and racial minorities. The reaction is from a research practitioner's viewpoint. The authors argue in favor of determining an operational definition of cultural relevance by implementing prevention services with fidelity in the field and understanding what structural components of CRPs are minimally necessary for the effective operation of the prevention programs. Field personnel also need to identify reliable ways to involve in planning those individuals who represent service recipient characteristics. The article closes with a recommendation that research practitioners pursue an active evaluation agenda aimed at further standardizing and quantifying the effectiveness of CRP strategies for underserved racial and ethnic groups.Several articles published in this issue of The Counseling Psychologist examine key issues in the application of cultural relevance to the area of preventive services for health education and health promotion in community settings. These authors apply principles of culturally relevant prevention (CRP) to areas like parenting among African Americans, recruitment and retention of Latino Hispanics in higher education through "pipeline" programs at the secondary educational level, and a program designed to facilitate personal and academic performance. The authors acknowledge the fact that researchers and practitioners continue to present opposing positions regarding the following question. Does the acknowledgment of culture serve as a significant variable in the planning, execution, and evaluation of prevention programs that affect the quality of health education outcomes for racial and ethnic groups?

Centering Media Literacy and Cultural Tailoring: A Scoping Review of Interventions Used to Address Black Adolescent Intimate Partner Violence

“…This kind of tailoring goes beyond surface level changes, such as modifying the language used in program materials, and instead addresses the values, desires, and context of a given community (Resnicow et al, 2000). While there is no single operationalization (Griffin & Miller, 2007), cultural tailoring can encompass minor actions, such as taking feedback, or macro-level inclusion methods, such as inviting community members to participate in a program's development, implementation, and evaluation (Reese & Vera, 2007). There is some evidence that culturally relevant youth interventions may improve program outcomes.…”

Career Guidance for Refugees in a Nordic Context

“…Researchers concerned with the cultural relevance of interventions (Griffin & Miller, 2007;Reese & Vera, 2007) have pointed out that the development of programmes must be based upon a deep knowledge of ways of life and world views of the community for which the programme is being developed (Arulmani, 2011). Scandinavian research shows that various efforts at treating refugees as individuals that need to be immersed in Scandinavian culture and society instead of as members of supportive family groups may have the opposite result of hindering rather than facilitating the sort of social incorporation that was intended (Olwig, 2010, p. 192).…”

‘While I'm Retraining, I Get the Full Whack’: Illuminating Narratives of Career Change

“…There seemed to be a stark contrast between his clearly articulated aspiration to retrain for a better job in a different sector, and their repeated offer of broadly agricultural jobs which would lead nowhere as they were all unskilled and seasonal employment. Griffin and Miller (2007) argue for programmes and interventions appropriate to cultural difference, yet it was striking that, within this region at least, no specific intervention is on offer for those coming from ethnic minority populations. Babul, as a French national of Algerian origin, referred to himself as being from an ethnic minority.…”