Adapting the Myplan IPV Decision Aid for Kyrgyzstan: Perspectives of Stakeholders and Local Service Providers

Kyrgyz women experience high and rising rates of lifetime physical and sexual violence from intimate partners and family members (Eshalieva, 2020). Domestic violence relationship decision-aids such as myPlan center survivors' voice and choice in helping them determine risks of re-assault, and how to stay safe (Glass et al., 2022); however, tools must be culturally adapted to the user’s context for increased flexibility, fit, and effectiveness (Barrera et al., 2017; Fernández et al., 2025). As part of adapting this intervention for the Kyrgyz context, this paper explores the perspectives of Kyrgyz stakeholders to shape recommendations for improving myPlan’s accessibility for survivors in their communities while maintaining fidelity to the intervention.

Qualitative data to inform app adaption was collected between 2020 and 2022 through interviews with service providers (n=10) working with DV survivors in Kyrgyz homeless shelters, children’s programs, psychological services, and other local governmental and NGO services. Most participants had secondary education or advanced degrees. Interviews took place in Kyrgyz or Russian, and were transcribed and translated into English for analysis. Deductive coding drawing on the Cultural Sensitivity Model (Resnicow et al., 2000) was used to delineate participants’ recommendations for levels of cultural adaptation, ranging from “deep structure” changes, elements from “below the surface,” and more “surface structure” or cosmetic changes which together enhance intervention accessibility.

Recommendations highlighted several aspects of the intervention that could change to better reflect priorities and considerations of particular importance to women in Kyrgyzstan. First, Deep Structure changes included reframing core aspects of the intervention approach to family dynamics, focusing on a broader in-law and kinship structure rather than just the partner dyad; re-orienting away from Westernized expectations of individual privacy in a collective society; pervasiveness and interconnection of financial abuse with all other types of violence; and the accentuated role of religion with Kyrgyz communities and survivors’ lives. Second, Below The Surface changes illustrated how tradition and society would impact app engagement, such as inclusion of culturally-specific weapons-types more common in Kyrgyzstan rather than the U.S.-focus on firearm partner violence. Finally, Surface Structure changes included language, such as Kyrgyz-specific gendered insults; descriptions and examples of violent partner behavior; term translation which struggled with linguistic congruency from the English to Russian or Kyrgyz such as the word “partner” having business, rather than relationship connotations; and formal versus informal app language.

These findings emphasize the necessity of adaptation that accommodates both fundamental cultural differences from collectivist and individualist societies, and how that can shape intervention-users' understanding and approaches. Culture is not a monolith, but these findings help orient to how tools normed in other geographical contexts can be adapted in significant ways that exceed just linguistic translation, so that they can be offered to survivors from other cultural backgrounds navigating relationship safety and decision making. These findings also invite additional inquiry into what changes are essential for user engagement, and which threaten intervention fidelity, and how to effectively navigate a trade-off that meets culturally-specific needs while still delivering on the promise of evidence-based decision-aid resource.