Cultural Adaptation of a Family Strengthening Intervention for Venezuelan Migrant Parents in Colombia

Background: Venezuela’s ongoing political and economic crises have led to the displacement of more than eight million people, with Colombia hosting nearly three million Venezuelan migrants. A significant proportion of Venezuelan migrants are families with young children, many of whom face precarious living conditions, limited access to healthcare and education, chronic stress that threatens both caregiver mental health and early childhood development. Interventions that demonstrate to be effective in these contexts are highly needed. This study describes the cultural adaptation and pilot testing of a Family Strengthening Intervention (FSI) for Venezuelan migrant families in Colombia.

Methods: This study used the ADAPT-ITT framework to culturally adapt the FSI to Venezuelan migrants residing in Bogota, Colombia. The ADAPT-ITT process consists of the following eight phases: 1) Assessment: assessing community needs, 2) Decision: selecting the intervention, 3) Adaptation: adapting the intervention in partnership with community members, 4) Production: developing an adapted manual, 5) Topical experts: gathering feedback from experts, 6) Integration: integrating feedback from previous phases, 7) Training: training facilitators, and 8) Testing: pilot testing the culturally adapted intervention. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed.

Results: Results are presented according to each phase. 1) Assessment: four focus groups with 28 Venezuelan migrant parents were conducted. Participants reported significant parenting challenges related to violence exposure, limited access to resources, and turmoil during the cultural adaptation process. 2) Decision: the FSI was selected as the most optimal intervention to culturally adapt to the Colombian context. 3) Adaptation: 29 theater testing sessions with 13 families were conducted. Results from this phase revealed that participants valued the interactive nature of the sessions and recommended specific changes to the material to reflect their Venezuelan culture and migratory lived experiences. 4) Production: a culturally adapted manual with the recommendations from participants was developed. 5) Topical experts: feedback from two experts working with Venezuelan migrants, mental health, and humanitarian contexts was obtained. 6) Integration: a second version of the culturally adapted manual was developed integrating experts’ feedback. 7) Training: eight community facilitators were trained in the culturally adapted intervention. 8) Testing: Sixteen families (N = 32 caregivers of minors) were recruited to participate in the pilot study. Thematic analysis of exit interviews revealed high caregiver satisfaction, with reported improvements in emotional regulation, family relationships, and sustained use of session skills. Community based facilitators support and cultural familiarity were key to the program’s success. Quantitative findings from the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) reinforced these qualitative insights. The ASQ showed notable improvements after the intervention. The proportion of children scoring above the developmental cutoff in all domains increased from 44% at baseline to 67% post-intervention, while the proportion scoring below the cutoff declined from 22% to 6%.

Conclusions and Implications: The FSI was culturally adapted to Venezuelan migrants residing in Colombia. The adapted intervention called Caminando con Amor [Walking with Love] proved to be feasible and acceptable among Venezuelan migrant families, offering an effective strategy to address caregiver mental health and support early childhood development in contexts of displacement.