Regular article
Implementation fidelity of Multidimensional Family Therapy in an international trial

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2012.08.225Get rights and content

Abstract

Implementation fidelity, a critical aspect of clinical trials research that establishes adequate delivery of the treatment as prescribed in treatment manuals and protocols, is also essential to the successful implementation of effective programs into new practice settings. Although infrequently studied in the drug abuse field, stronger implementation fidelity has been linked to better outcomes in practice but appears to be more difficult to achieve with greater distance from model developers. In the INternational CAnnabis Need for Treatment (INCANT) multi-national randomized clinical trial, investigators tested the effectiveness of Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) in comparison to individual psychotherapy (IP) in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, The Hague, and Geneva with 450 adolescents with a cannabis use disorder and their parents. This study reports on the implementation fidelity of MDFT across these five Western European sites in terms of treatment adherence, dose and program differentiation, and discusses possible implications for international implementation efforts.

Keywords

Implementation fidelity
Drug abuse treatment
Adolescents
International multi-site trial
Multidimensional Family Therapy

Cited by (0)

View Abstract