Measurement of Sensibility towards Human Rights Based Approach and Gender Perspective in Psychosocial Interventions

Abstract

Psychosocial interventions to promote social and human development in developing countries frequently use the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and the Gender Perspective (GP) frameworks. Given that little is known about the preparation and willingness to work with these frameworks among people in charge of designing, implementing and evaluating these interventions, we designed a questionnaire to measure knowledge and attitudes about HRBA and GP. The questionnaire was developed using a mixed methods approach. Results from cognitive interviews were used to define a preliminary version that was pilot-tested with 88 participants from Colombia, Spain, Nicaragua and USA. Data analysis yielded a final version with 39 items structured in four dimensions: Knowledge-HRBA (13 items; A= 0.75), Attitudes-HRBA (6 items; A= 0.79), Knowledge-GP (8 items; A= 0.75) and Attitudes-GP (12 items; A= 0.84). The questionnaire can be used to detect training needs and to evaluate training interventions. It is also helpful in the identification of key partners for implementing interventions based on these frameworks.