Vida PURA: A Cultural Adaptation of Screening and Brief Intervention to Reduce Unhealthy Drinking among Latino Day Laborers

Brief intervention is known to reduce drinking in primary care, however because health care access is limited for Latino immigrants, traditional brief interventions are unlikely to reach this population.  Using Barrera and Castro’s framework, our study aims to culturally adapt a screening and brief intervention program to reduce unhealthy alcohol use among Latino day laborers, a particularly vulnerable group of Latino immigrant men.  We conducted 18 interviews with Latino day laborers and 13 interviews with mental health and substance use providers that serve Latino immigrant men.   Themes from the interviews were used to identify sources of mismatch between traditional screening and brief intervention and our target population.  Unhealthy alcohol use was common and men had limited knowledge about how to change their behavior.  Men preferred to receive information from trusted providers in Spanish.  Men faced significant barriers to accessing health and social services, but were open to receiving brief interventions in community settings.  Findings were used to design Vida PURA, a preliminary adaptation design of brief intervention for Latino day laborers.  Key adaptations include providing brief intervention at a day labor worker center, by promotores trained to incorporate the social and cultural context of drinking for Latino immigrant men.  If proven effective, this adapted intervention could be disseminated to day labor worker centers and other community-based organizations.  Our adaption process may serve as a model for researchers and practitioners hoping to adapt interventions for similar populations.