Cultural adaptation of RECOLLECT Fidelity Measure and Checklists in a recovery-oriented NGO in Brazil

Purpose: The global spread of Recovery Colleges (RCs) demands culturally adapted fidelity measures to support international implementation and research. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and pilot-test the RECOLLECT Fidelity Measure and Checklists for Brazil, addressing the critical need for assessing RC fidelity in diverse contexts. Design/Methodology/Approach: A rigorous five-step methodology was used for translation and cultural adaptation. This included initial and back-translation, consultation with original developers, multidisciplinary review, and pilot testing of student and peer educator checklists within a Brazilian artistic-cultural recovery project. Findings: This study produced a culturally adapted Brazilian Portuguese version of the instruments. Pilot data from the Checklists (descriptive, non-psychometric tools) showed that the adaptation mainly involved linguistic modifications for Brazilian relevance. The pilot demonstrated overall high fidelity to RC principles. However, Co-production and Community Focus domains exhibited less alignment, suggesting areas for future Brazilian RC development. Originality: This research is the first adaptation and pilot testing of RC fidelity instruments for a Latin American context, providing culturally appropriate measures to inform future recovery research and practice in the region. This study provides the necessary foundational step of cultural adaptation, which is a prerequisite for future psychometric validation of the Fidelity Measure. These findings highlight the feasibility and importance of adapting fidelity measures to local contexts, especially in resource-scarce regions like Brazil and Latin America.