Table A2.
Shows some examples of original story activity suggestion alongside the suggestions from participants to make amendments.
| Original activity or activity suggestion | Participant feedback and suggestion for amendment | Decision made during the adaptation workshop |
|---|---|---|
| Making and drinking a cup of tea (Both genders) |
Drinking tea was a simple, pleasant and common activity, yet, to be replaced by ‘drinking a hot drink’ which could be coffee, tea or matté in the case of a certain population in Lebanon, to avoid misleading people into believing that tea had herbal or therapeutic effects against depression | Change to drinking a hot drink and reduce the frequency that this activity features in the story |
| Going for a walk (Both genders) |
Walking was deemed to be very beneficial; yet, instead of walking alone, walking with company could be an option for some Syrian women who cannot go outside unaccompanied | Walking was maintained as a very healthy activity. In some of the illustrations, the character is walking with family of friends but text does not specify alone or in company |
| Reading a book (Both genders) |
Reading a book was thought to be too complicated and stressful for depressed people. Also, it does not seem to be very common among adults and might be offensive to people with low literacy | This activity was removed |
| Playing with one's children (Both genders) |
Playing with one's children was thought to be a stressful activity that adds burden to a depressed person. It was advised by the participants and the experts to postpone this activity in the story from session 1 to session 4 or 5 | Overall, the references to children were reduced, men were included in illustrations with the children and this activity was included for both men and women |
| Listening to favourite singer (Both genders) |
Listening to favourite singer was criticized by some religious people who noted that listening to music was prohibited in their religion. Participants suggested that it could be kept as an option ‘listen to music’ and music could be classical | This was changed to listening to favourite music |
| Going to the market first alone then with the children (Both genders) |
Taking the kids to the market could be very stressful and difficult to a depressed person and even embarrassing in case that person is from a low socio-economic class. The suggestion was to replace it with going to the market alone and remove going with children or postpone it to session 4 or 5 | This was changed to taking the family out for the day, with a practice outing of getting picnic supplies from the market alone |
| Inviting, preparing and hosting a family dinner (Females only) |
Invite family to come over for dinner is good and enjoyable but costly and impractical for some Syrians since several families live in the same apartment. Thus, making dinner and or dessert could be a better alternative | This was maintained for women as a complex social activity but with four extra people (rather than saying ‘extended family’) |
| Going to meet friends to play chess at a café (Males only) |
Meeting a friend to play chess in a café was considered relevant and applicable, yet better replace chess with cards or backgammon which are much more common in this culture. Also, encourage men to spend time with their families at home as well | This was replaced with going to the cafe or a friend's house to play backgammon |