Table 3 Alignment of stress management intervention with Kreuter’s framework for cultural appropriateness in behavioral interventions
Categories for enhancing cultural appropriateness | Stress management enhancements | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Peripheral | Racial, sex-specific, and cultural concordance | -Race- and sex-concordant interventionist; culturally concordant images in stress management materials |
Evidential | Race- and sex-specific statistics on topic area | -Black women report higher chronic stress than white women and tend to use coping strategies that exude strength, which may negatively impact health |
Linguistic | Use of dominant native language of target group | -Written and verbal stress management training will be presented in English; race- and sex-concordance of interventionists will increase the likelihood of culturally consistent meaning of language |
Constituent-Involving | Identification of culturally relevant stressors and use of direct quotes from formative assessments in materials | - Job and race/sex-related stress: “I am mostly stressed out by my job. It is already challenging and I am the only black woman in the office” - Financial stress: “As a single parent, it’s hard putting kids through college” |
Socio-Cultural | Incorporation of stress management strategies that are relevant to the values, beliefs, and culture of the targeted population, including religiosity/spirituality, racial pride, collectivism, and perception of time | -Meditation that includes elements of spirituality (prayer, scripture) -Positive self-statements that include |