"Nothing about us, without us": Translation and cultural adaptation of the Thinking Healthy Programme for perinatal...

'Thinking Healthy Program' (THP) is an evidence-based psychosocial intervention endorsed by the World Health Organization as the first line of treatment for perinatal depression (PND), especially in low & middle-income countries. Sri Lanka, a low & middle-income country in Southeast Asia, is yet to introduce an intervention to the existing national maternal and child health programme to address PND. The THP is required to be adapted to the Sri Lankan context before implementation.

We adapted the THP to the Sri Lankan context. In this article, the process and outcomes of the adaptation of THP is reported.

The THP materials were adapted using a co-designing approach. Adaptation was carried out in steps including translation & back translation and cultural adaptation of the manual, checking the manual for its face validity, and pre-testing the documents. The adaptation was guided by the Bernal Framework of Translation and Adaptation of Interventions.

Key adaptations were made in the THP in the areas of language, concepts, contexts, individuals, and delivery methods. No significant changes were made to the structure and the content. A supplementary document including metaphors that can be used to describe mental health-related concepts in the local context was prepared. It was identified that the translation and the adaptations were relevant, understandable, and acceptable to stakeholders.

The adapted version of the THP is relevant within the Sri Lankan cultural and healthcare context and might be suitable to be introduced to the existing Sri Lankan maternal and child health programme.