“It's not just about me, it's about you, it's about her…it's about building bonds so that we can be a better society”: Lessons learned from developing a mother-daughter health promotion program

Research demonstrates that girls' interpersonal relationships are associated with their behavior and adjustment during adolescence. The mother-daughter relationship is particularly salient for early adolescent girls and can serve as either a risk or a protective factor for their engagement in a variety of health-compromising behaviors. Recommendations for gender-specific health promotion programming include providing opportunities for relationship building between girls and adult female role models, especially between mothers and daughters. This presentation describes the development of a family-based health promotion program, BRIGHT (Building Relationships Involves Growing Healthy Together), designed specifically for mother-daughter dyads. Results from a formative assessment study (indepth interviews with 12 mother-daughter dyads/triads) were used to develop intervention strategies, materials, and activities. Findings highlighted the need to structure the program for mother-only, girl-only and dyadic activities as well as to incorporate opportunities for ongoing support networks using technological innovations and to promote opportunities for positive mother-daughter activities outside of program meetings. A feasibility pilot study was then conducted with approximately 20 mother-daughter dyads. Results show high approval levels endorsed by mothers and daughters as well as strong participation and retention rates. Pre-post surveys demonstrated positive trends, with girls reporting increased comfort talking with their mothers about sensitive issues, enjoyment of mother-daughter activities and satisfaction with the relationship. Mothers reported increased satisfaction with mother-daughter communication, conflict resolution, and amount of time spent together. Logistical, strategic and philosophical lessons learned from implementing the program will be discussed along with implications of these findings for other family-based health promotion initiatives.