The Family Strengthening Intervention for Refugees (FSI-R) was developed and tested as a culturally and linguistically tailored intervention in partnership with immigrant and refugee communities. Based on previous research in Rwanda on the FSI for HIV affected populations, the FSI-R was developed using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, initially co-created with Somali Bantu and Lhotshampa Bhutanese refugee communities in :

• Chelsea, MA
• Springfield, MA
• Lewiston, ME

Funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (R24MD008057-03S1). Following a first planning grant from NIMH using community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches to co-develop and pilot the intervention, we conducted a Hybrid Type II effectiveness trial of the standard FSI-R from 2019-2022 with a second grant from the NIMHD (R01MD010613-06).

The FSI-R has a whole-family prevention intervention approach and is supported by multiple organizations, including the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. The FSI-R has been adapted for

• Afghan
• Somali Bantu
• Lhotshampa Bhutanese

refugee communities in the United States.  The FSI-R is designed to be delivered by non-specialists from the community they serve, using a 10-12 module home-visiting approach.

In addition, our research has developed a digital application designed to enhance fidelity to the evidence-based intervention by providing an easy-to-use format that is more user-friendly than a paper manual. The digital tool has been co-developed and co-created in collaboration with refugee populations, UI/UX researchers, and computer science students.

The FSI-R is currently being administered for Afghan populations in the United States. We have conducted a pilot study of our Afghan FSI-R in Maine, and we are now working with partners in Michigan to further the impact of the FSI-R for vulnerable Afghan families across the state.