Making it relevant: A codesign and cultural acceptability study of Be Real’s BodyKind Ireland body image programme for older adolescents

Abstract

Body image is an established public health concern and there is a pressing need for evidence-informed universal programmes for older adolescents. To ensure high standard, quality programmes, there have been calls to adapt existing programmes to different contexts in ways that ensure materials are relevant, but still aligned with their theoretical foundations. This study outlines the cultural adaptation of the BodyKind programme in Ireland, which was initially developed in the USA, to address an unmet need to provide an inclusive, strengths-focused, school-based body image intervention for older adolescents. After receiving BodyKind, codesign workshops were conducted with 12 adolescents aged 15–16 years, who provided feedback and designed content (examples/scenarios) to increase the programme’s relevance for adolescents. Feedback on cultural appropriateness of programme materials were obtained via interviews with six female post-primary teachers and one mental health clinician. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. BodyKind was perceived as highly acceptable by stakeholders who offered suggestions for programme refinement. Themes included 1.) Programme acceptability, 2.) Implementation considerations, 3.) Programme refinement. This study used multi-stakeholder feedback to engage in cultural adaptation of BodyKind prior to further evaluation, thereby informing efforts to implement sustainable and scalable programmes in schools.