“I’m much more ok with my body just being mine and treating it well”: women’s experiences of empowerment after completing a holistic health programme

OBJECTIVE: Women are often disempowered by dominant discourses that narrowly define health in terms of weight, exercise, and diet. This study explored women's experiences of empowerment after completing Next Level Health (NLH), a holistic health programme that supported women to make small, achievable behaviour change across health domains including physical activity, sleep, nutrition, eating behaviour, self-care, and stress management. METHODS AND MEASURES: Fifty-six women living in New Zealand completed evaluation forms that asked about their experiences of NLH and any outcomes they experienced at programme-end (6 months) and follow-up (12 months). RESULTS: . Collectively, these themes reveal the expansive and personal ways empowerment was realised and the context sensitivity it required. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight how women gained greater agency over their health by shifting away from rigid norms towards context-sensitive and self-directed health practices. There is compelling evidence that future health interventions should embed holistic, women-centred approaches, with reflexive practice playing a key role in women's empowerment.