“I wanna live in a world where change is possible”: Co-designing guidance for inclusive eating, exercise, and body image psychopathology outreach resources for men.

Background and Aims. Men’s help-seeking for eating, exercise, and/or body image psychopathology (EEBIP) is limited by numerous barriers. One such help-seeking barrier is that public-facing EEBIP healthcare resources appear unwelcoming to men. The purpose of this study was to co-design guidance with men that can inform the design of men-inclusive EEBIP healthcare resources. Methods. This study used an iterative co-design using a modified nominal group technique and participatory methods. Resource ideas were collected from 41 men via an online survey, and rank-ordered by six lived experience partners (LEPs; men with EEBIP experience). The top-ranked ideas informed guidance design interviews and focus groups with LEPs. A reflexive thematic analysis of these discussions generated themes to underpin the initial guidance draft. The drafted guidance was then iteratively reviewed by healthcare and academic organisation representatives (HAOR) and LEPs. Findings. Analysis of the discussions identified five themes: 1) Designing accessible resources that navigate men’s readiness; 2) Authentic voices: inclusive, conversation-led outreach; 3) Self-realisation: refraining from labelling men as ‘unhealthy’ or ‘disordered’; 4) Purpose and progress driven resources; 5) Images: the line between helpful and harmful isn’t always clear. The LEP’s and HAOR’s collaboration resulted in a co-designed guidance document to inform future resource development. Discussion. This is the first study to co-design guidance for EEBIP healthcare organisations seeking to create public-facing resources that are inclusive of men. The findings reflect men’s preferences for EEBIP-related health communication via outreach resources, which may inform healthcare organisations in reviewing and/or developing such resources.