Impact of a culturally adapted version of illness management and recovery on Israeli Arabs with serious mental illness

Objective: In recent years, there has been growing awareness of the need for cultural adaptation of evidence-based practices, which is essential for successful implementation in diverse cultural contexts. This study investigated the impact of a culturally adapted version of Illness Management and Recovery (IMR), an evidence-based practice developed in the United States, on Israeli Arabs with serious mental illness. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared the outcomes of 86 people who completed the culturally adapted IMR version with outcomes from a matched control group (N=64) who received treatment as usual. Results: Mixed repeated-measures analyses of variance demonstrated significant improvements in the domains of recovery, hope, self-efficacy, and quality of life among those who completed culturally adapted IMR. Conclusions: The culturally adapted Arabic version of IMR for Israeli Arabs was found to generate significant positive improvement. The findings are discussed with emphasis on the importance of cultural adaptation.