Cocreating eating disorder education solutions: A design thinking approach to dietetics curricula in Australia

• Published in: Journal of human nutrition and dietetics Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 1219 - 1230
• Main Authors: Heafala, Alana, Rundle‐Thiele, Sharyn, Ball, Lauren, Mitchell, Lana J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Australia; cocreation; Colleges & universities; Curricula; Curriculum; curriculum design; Design analysis; Design thinking; Dietetics; Dietetics - education; dietitian; Early experience; Eating disorders; Education; Embedding; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Female; Humans; labor force; participatory design; Population studies; Prototypes; stakeholders; Students; Thinking; Australia; participatory design; dietitian; eating disorders; curriculum design; design thinking; cocreation
• DOI: 10.1111/jhn.13333
• ISSN: 0952-3871; 1365-277X

Background As the prevalence of eating disorders continues to increase, there is an urgent need to equip the emerging dietetics workforce to provide care to this growing population. The present study aimed to describe a five‐step design thinking process that was applied to brainstorm ideas and develop and test solutions for consideration in the future. Methods A pragmatic, five‐step design thinking approach was used during a 1‐day, in‐person design thinking retreat. Purposive sampling was used to identify key stakeholders, including subject matter, learning and teaching, as well as lived experience experts, dietetics students and recent graduates. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse brainstormed and design solution ideas. Results Seventeen participants attended the design thinking retreat in April 2023. Four education prototypes were developed and tested by stakeholders including: (1) a change to accreditation requirements for dietetics curricula; (2) a multimodal learning package for penultimate year students; (3) embedding disordered eating and eating disorder content into existing curriculum and upskilling educators; and (4) codesigning an eating disorder module. Conclusions The design thinking retreat engaged a variety of stakeholders in curriculum design resulting in an array of prototype approaches that aimed to embed eating disorder content into university curricula. Further research is needed to test the prototypes and understand what impact this has on dietetics students' feelings of preparedness to provide care to people seeking this support. This study describes the five‐step design thinking process that was applied to develop and test four education prototypes. All solutions generated by design thinking participants aimed to integrate eating disorder content within dietetics curricula. Highlights A design thinking retreat engaged a diverse range of stakeholders, involving them in the research process to integrate eating disorder content within dietetics curricula. The prototypes focused on collaborating with professional bodies and people with lived experience to design and deliver eating disorder content early within the degree, and upskilling educators to feel confident to deliver this content. Including content at university was perceived as important for equipping dietitians with foundational knowledge and skills, as well as to support them to feel comfortable and confident to provide care for people with eating disorders.