Facilitators and Barriers in Cross-Country Transport of Evidence-based Preventive Interventions: a Case Study Using the Family Check-Up

This study is a qualitative analysis of facilitators and barriers in the dissemination of Family Check-Up (FCU), a U.S.-developed preventive intervention in Sweden. The FCU is inherently culturally flexible because it was designed to be tailored to each family’s needs and context, including cultural norms and values. We present the FCU implementation framework (IF) as a conceptual framework for cross-country transport of the FCU and evidence-based programs (EBP) more generally. The FCU IF draws from implementation science literature and involves specifying barriers and facilitators related to implementation drivers (e.g., competency) at each implementation phase and applying these data to inform phase-specific, readiness-building activities for each driver. In addition to driver-related influences, barriers and facilitators specific to the FCU and the collaborative partnership between the U.S. and Swedish purveyors emerged in the data. The partnership’s reliance on a hybrid bottom-up, top-down approach that balanced the Swedish purveyor’s autonomy and cultural expertise with guidance from the U.S. purveyor facilitated adaptation of the FCU for Sweden. Relying on previously collected data, we also explored similarities and differences in barriers and facilitators to FCU scale-up in the United States versus Sweden. In general, across drivers, the same barriers and facilitators were salient. This study suggests that dissemination of culturally flexible EBPs guided by a dynamic implementation framework can facilitate cross-country transport of EBPs. This study promotes a culture of prevention by highlighting barriers, facilitators, and readiness-building strategies that influence the cross-cultural transportability of EBPs that prevent the onset and escalation of child problem behavior.