Photovoice for Health Promotion Research, Empowerment, and Advocacy: Young Refugee Stories from Turkey

Abstract

Photovoice, as a Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) approach, aims to combine research with advocacy and action for achieving change. This project aimed to use photovoice to assess and increase awareness on public health problems faced by young refugees in Turkey, as well as involve young people in health promotion research and have their voices heard by policy makers. The qualitative study was conducted with young people experiencing forced migration and with local youth aged 18 to 30 years in Turkey. The methodology involved representing problems through photographs taken by participants and conducting discussions among both refugee and local youth groups, followed by dissemination and advocacy activities such as producing publications and organizing photo exhibitions that brought together policy makers, health service providers, civil society organizations, refugees, and host communities to achieve positive change through joint action. Through the photovoice process, we found that although health care services were widely available for registered refugees, many faced language, financial, cultural, and educational barriers—as well as gender and stigma-related barriers—to accessing health information, health services, and healthy environments. Using photovoice, as a CBPAR approach, had numerous advantages, such as the creation of visual findings that were more impactful than written material, the opportunity to work with vulnerable/disadvantaged groups throughout the research process, and increasing interaction between different stakeholders. This chapter demonstrates how photovoice can be used as a tool for research and advocacy to promote health and decrease inequalities in forced migration settings.