Developing an educational resource for people experiencing eating disorders during the menopause transition: A qualitative co-design study

BACKGROUND: The pronounced changes in reproductive hormones, such as oestradiol and progesterone, that occur during the menopause transition can contribute to increased risk of eating disorder onset or exacerbate a pre-existing eating disorder. Despite this heightened risk, there is a lack of available education and support that takes into consideration the unique challenges of experiencing an eating disorder during the menopause transition. This research aimed to qualitatively explore the perspectives of people with a lived experience of an eating disorder during the menopause transition, and to co-design a support option that addressed their unmet needs. METHODS: A Double Diamond co-design process was followed involving four phases: discover, define, develop, and deliver. Seventeen women in Australia with a lived experience of an eating disorder during the menopause transition participated in online workshops across the four phases to identify their unmet health educational needs in experiencing an eating disorder during this transition, develop potential solutions and ultimately deliver a prototype solution in the final phase. All online workshops were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. The findings from the previous phase informed the next leading to the prototype creation. RESULTS: Qualitative thematic analysis identified six major themes across the four phases; lack of awareness of the intersection of menopause and eating disorders, lack of education, limited and stigmatising services, learning from lived experience, resource impact and resource development. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study provided preliminary acceptability of a novel online resource to address the unmet educational needs of people experiencing an eating disorder during the menopause transition. Overall positive feedback on the potential for the resource to improve knowledge and empower treatment-seeking was provided by women with lived experience.