Photo-elicitation Interviews Research Articles

Space for Self-Care? Adolescents’ Rationales for Being Physically Active

Guided by Foucault’s theorization of power, self and strategies for self-care, the study aimed to characterize adolescents’ rationales for being physically active as the outcome of their negotiations with dominant discourses. Using stratified random sampling method, a sample of 291 adolescents (female = 161, age 11–14) was selected from 24 middle schools. With the Free and Reduced Meals (FARMS) rates ranging from 22% to 78%, the schools were drawn from six school districts that served urban, suburban, and rural communities. Photo-elicited semi-structured interviews were conducted. Discourse analyses were performed on the interview transcripts. Students identified health, body image, and physical capacities, in this order of significance, as leading rationales for physical activity participation. The finding indicates that students had been heavily influenced by dominant discourses, especially healthism, discourse on body image, and athleticism/ablism. Nevertheless, most students’ rationales for physical activities did not contain stereotypical and judgmental binary ideals based on which these dominant discourses were constructed. A small number of students demonstrated the potential of engaging self-care practices—reflectively and flexibly adopting discourses for their own needs. The findings suggest educators and practitioners help adolescents to disrupt the discourses of binaries for self-care.

Connect, care, create: practical framework for physical environment design for person-centred palliative care.

This article aims to explore architectural-rich insights derived from users' experiences within everyday practice in palliative environments and provides a practical framework for healthcare organisations, architects and researchers involved in (re)designing palliative environments for person-centred care. An ethnographic study involving participatory observation was undertaken to gain insight into the influence of palliative environments on the diverse users' subjective experiences. This immersive research took place across multiple palliative environments, encompassing a palliative care unit, a day care centre for palliative care and a hospice located in Belgium. Also, informal conversations and photo-elicitation interviews were conducted with residents, family members, healthcare professionals, volunteers and maintenance staff. Analysing the subjective experiences yielded a practical framework of four architectural atmospheres (proximity, support, engagement, comfort) intended to serve as guiding principles for designing palliative environments. To shape these atmospheres, this article elaborates on 17 spatial aspects and aligns them with real-life experiences of users within palliative environments, thereby enriching and contextualising these insights. This study presents a practical framework encompassing atmospheres, spatial aspects and overarching insights. It is augmented by supplemental material featuring real-life user experiences, all directed towards guiding the design of palliative environments in pursuit of person-centred palliative care. This article advocates for a collaborative, interdisciplinary, holistic design approach that acknowledges these considerations' interconnectedness and considers the users' multiple perspectives. Ultimately, this approach serves as a means of bridging design intentions and actual experiences encountered by users in their real-life contexts to assist healthcare organisations and architects in creating environments for person-centred palliative care.

Genetics, emotion and care: Navigating future reproductive decisions in families of children with rare genetic conditions.

Little is known regarding the future reproductive decision-making of parents of children with rare genetic conditions. Our research draws on data from an online survey and qualitative photo-elicitation interviews with families living with Noonan Syndrome. We demonstrate how genetic knowledge and prenatal genetic testing become embedded in reproductive practices. Yet the idea of using selective genetic technologies to influence reproductive outcomes remains highly emotive. Our analysis reveals that for these parents, the rationalities of reproduction, although technologised and biomedicalised, remain centred on caring for their disabled child. Genetic subjectivities become entangled with responsibilities of care-giving and emotion tied to the realities of living with disability. We argue that for these parents, reproductive decisions are relational and affective, situated within families and communities and shaped by access to emotional, financial, physical and temporal resources. Our findings provide new insights into the ontologies of selective genetic technologies and reproductive governance in families living with disability.

Teacher's understanding of early childhood physical literacy: thematic analysis based on teaching experience from an Indonesian perspective

ABSTRACT Background Early childhood is a critical period for the formation of physical literacy from an early age. Teachers play an important role in supporting the growth of children's physical literacy. Unfortunately, in Indonesia, the understanding of the concept of physical literacy has yet to fully permeate early childhood education. There are no special regulations from the government to include physical education in early childhood education so that children can achieve physical literacy. Traditionally in Indonesia, teachers provide physical activity games with the aim being only to master children's gross motor skills. Therefore, the presentation of physical activity through play provided by teachers needs attention to understand children's physical literacy. These teachers can help inform the provision of physical education for early childhood education in supporting children's physical literacy in the future. Purpose This research aims to reveal the experiences of early childhood education teachers in Indonesia who are used to providing physical activity learning through games. Through this experience, this research also aims to explore teachers’ meanings regarding children's physical literacy. Method Through a phenomenological study in accordance with the physical literacy theoretical framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 early childhood education teachers in West Java, Indonesia. A sample of teachers was taken and interviewed from 5 schools that met the criteria, namely that they were used to teaching physical activity through play for the purpose of developing children's gross motor skills. To add to the description of teachers’ experiences, photo-elicitation interviews were conducted. Top-down thematic and bottom-up thematic analysis was carried out to analyze all the data that had been obtained. Results Physical literacy is interpreted as something related to children's health, meaning physical activity carried out by young children to keep their bodies fit and healthy so they can live their lives independently. Pedagogical experience from an educational background other than physical education is recognized as an obstacle to understanding physical literacy comprehensively. Thus, the teching learning practices carried out in the field only emphasize the meaning of children's physical motor activity. In accordance with the teachers’ experience, the teaching they often do every day is only giving physical activity’ games, this is assumed by them to support the physical literacy of early childhood. Motor physical activities that lead to physical literacy in early childhood are carried out in open field areas or playgrounds. The safety of teaching motor and physical activities for children is also a concern for teachers. Conclusion The findings from this study suggest that teaching experience with an educational background other than physical education can limit the understanding of physical literacy, even if the teachers are used to teaching physical activity in an early childhood education environment. The long-term implications may be that if early childhood education and physical education work together, they will be able to inspire more meaningful experiences in teaching physical activities that contribute to the formation of children's physical literacy.

Understanding Experiences of Headache-Sufferers Attending Emergency Departments Through Photovoice.

Our aim was to explore the experiences of individuals receiving emergency department (ED) care for acute headaches. Patients with headache exacerbations commonly present to EDs. This study explored the experiences of adult patients during the exacerbation period, specifically using photovoice. Recruited from two urban EDs in Alberta, Canada, participants with primary headaches took photographs over 3-4 weeks and subsequently completed a 60-90 minute, one-on-one, in-person photo-elicitation interview. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed alongside photographs. Eight participants (six women) completed the study. The average age was 42 years (standard deviation: 16). Five themes emerged: (1) the struggle for legitimacy in light of the invisibility of their condition; (2) the importance of hope, hopelessness and fear in the day-to-day life of participants; (3) the importance of agency and becoming "your own advocate"; (4) the struggle to be and be seen as themselves despite the encroachment of their headaches; and (5) the realities of "good" and "bad" care in the ED. Participants highlighted examples of good care, specifically when they felt seen and believed. Additionally, some expressed the acute care space itself being a beacon of hope in the midst of their crisis. Others felt dismissed because providers "know it's not life or death." This study highlighted the substantial emotional impact that primary headaches have on the lives of participants, particularly during times of exacerbation and while seeking acute care. This provides insight for acute care settings and practitioners on how to effectively engage with this population.

The invisible community in contemporary China: a visual narrative framework for Chinese lesbian identity

This study employs the photo-elicitation (PE) interview method to explore the social construction of contemporary Chinese lesbian identity. It examines how individuals use visual symbols in their daily lives to construct and express their sexual orientation. The research highlights the diversity and creativity in Chinese lesbian identity expression, while addressing challenges from traditional family values, gender norms, and evolving social attitudes. Introducing the “Visual Narratives of Identity” (VNI) framework, this study bridges the gap between academic research and lived experiences, offering insights into identity expression under social and cultural constraints. The findings emphasize the complex strategies participants use to navigate social expectations and maintain personal authenticity. This study enriches the theoretical landscape of sexual orientation identity in visual culture studies, advocates for methodological diversity, and deepens our understanding of the complexities within Chinese lesbian subcultures.

Investigating Caregivers’ Advocacy Efforts in Early Intervention Using Auto-Photography and Photo-Elicitation Interviews

Although it is widely known that caregivers advocate for their school-aged children with disabilities, little is understood about how caregivers who have infants and toddlers with delays or disabilities advocate for their young children. The birth-to-three period may be the beginning of some parents’ advocacy efforts and it is possible their efforts may change over time. Given the relevance of this topic and the limited literature, the purpose of this study was to use qualitative inquiry, specifically auto-photography and photo-elicitation interviews, to explore 13 caregivers’ advocacy experiences in their children’s early years. Thematic and constant comparative analyses were used and subsequently 41 major codes within seven categories were identified. The two major findings were (a) caregivers engaged in both individual (i.e., for their children) and outreach advocacy activities (i.e., for other families and children) and (b) their experiences extended beyond interactions with professionals and included everyday interactions with their children, family members and other parents. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

Disruption and Improvisation: Experiences of Loneliness for People With Chronic Illness.

Chronic illness can disrupt many aspects of life, including identity, social relationships, and anticipated life trajectories. Despite significant scholarship on chronic illness, we know less about the ways in which chronic illness impacts feelings of loneliness and how people with chronic illness deal with loneliness. Drawing on concepts of biographical disruption and liminality and data from walking and photo-elicitation interviews with 14 people, we aimed to explore how people with chronic illness experience loneliness in their everyday lives. Tracing how past and present illness experiences are implicated in the lived experience of loneliness and the strategies people use to manage loneliness, our findings illustrated that being caught in a liminal state where participants struggled to maintain and adapt to a new normality in life with chronic illness was a central thread woven throughout their experience of loneliness. Although participants drew on their personal agency and adopted strategies to account for, manage, and limit disruptions from chronic illness and loneliness, they found that their strategies were not completely effective or satisfactory. Chronic illness and loneliness continue to be largely considered as an individual's problem, limiting opportunities for people with chronic illness who experience loneliness to seek support and social connection. Our research highlighted that chronic illness and loneliness need to be acknowledged as both a personal and collective problem, with multi-level responses that involve individuals, communities, and society.

“Other People Thought I was Dirty or Crazy”: Identity Conversations About Medical Exceptions to Masking

ABSTRACT Changes in society and how others view us often have an impact on our own identity. For some people, societal changes may prompt reflection and sense-making. With the global health pandemic COVID-19, many changes evolved in mandates and restrictions to mitigate the pandemic. One of these mitigation efforts involved the use of face masks. For some people, wearing masks is medically challenging. This study seeks to understand the lived experiences of those who cannot wear masks and find out how they coped with the situations in which they found themselves during the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. The experiences of people with medical difficulty wearing face masks led to strained relationships with family and society, impacting their identity. Using the photo-elicitation interview method, a qualitative study obtained ten interviews that showed experiences connected to current literature on ostracism, invisible disability, and the communication theory of identity.

Monkey bars and medical masks: a photo-voice study of children’s playground safety in British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT Children’s perspectives on their outdoor play safety can provide unique insight into what activities and environments are injurious for them. In this study, we conducted photo-elicitation interviews with 13 children (7 girls, 6 boys) from low- to mid-income communities who were between the ages of 9- to 13-years-old. The goal of the study was to examine their perspectives of outdoor play safety around urban playgrounds over a two-week period while they participated in day camp activities. Our thematic content analysis resulted in three themes: (1) fear of falling; (2) illness prevention; and (3) need for excitement. Our findings suggest children’s perception of safe play may be shaped by exposure to sanitary practices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, findings demonstrate children can experience tensions in participating in desirable play that is exciting, novel, and challenging, while fearing they could fall from higher structures that afford them with these opportunities.

The Role of War-Related Marketing Activism Actions in Community Resilience: From the Ground in Ukraine

Extant literature considers marketing activities as instrumental for postwar recovery and peace-building. However, war is an ongoing lived experience for numerous societies across the world. Focusing on the role of marketing during war, this article presents a study examining how and why people living in war adversity deploy, perceive, and respond to war-related marketing activism actions (MAA). War-related MAA are acts through which brands/organizations and consumers create or draw on marketing meanings to convey and to enact stances and experiences related to war. This study adopts a multimodal qualitative methodology integrating photo elicitation and in-depth interviews with consumers and with marketing and management professionals in Ukraine, the country enduring invasion and war by Russia at the time of this article’s publication. Analyses through a community resilience theoretical lens generate a conceptualization that demonstrates how war-related MAA are harnessed and serve as a medium in community dialogues concerning envisaged resilience trajectories (survival, creativity and growth, and recovery). The article advances understanding of marketing activism during war by illuminating its potential and boundary conditions for serving as a community resilience resource. It also offers public policy development directions for marketing practice, organizations, and governments.

Exploring the multiple dimensions of perceived food access in the local food environment in Flanders: Perceptions of adults in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations

Persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations are more susceptible and disproportionally exposed to unhealthy food environments, which results in limited access to healthy foods and poorer dietary outcomes. This qualitative paper examines the various dimensions of perceived food access to healthy and unhealthy foods (i.e., availability, affordability, accessibility, accommodation, desirability, convenience and acceptability) within the local food environment among persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations.A total of 23 participants in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations expressed their perceptions of food access within their local food environment and its role in their eating behaviour through participant-driven photo-elicitation in a focus group context (n = 7) and researcher-driven photo-elicitation interviews (n = 16). Reflexive thematic analysis has been used to analyse our data through an access framework.Four overarching themes were constructed. The first two themes concern barriers to perceived food access in respectively the home and community food environment – including the importance of kitchen infrastructure, household composition and transport options. The third theme encompasses the interaction of perceived food access with the sociocultural environment, highlighting its dual role as facilitator (e.g., through food sharing practices) and barrier (e.g., through social stigma and shame). The fourth theme concerns awareness and the ability to navigate within the information food environment, which has also been proposed as a novel dimension of food access.This study emphasizes the complexity of food access and the need for a multifaceted approach that integrates perceptions to ensure equitable access to healthy foods.

Understanding the experiences of virtual race participants through the lens of mindfulness theory

ABSTRACT The development of digital technologies and innovations has contributed, in part, to the rise of virtual races. As a type of active leisure event, virtual races have the potential to overcome geographic constraints and attract more participants. To further our understanding of participants’ virtual race experiences, we adopted mindfulness theory to examine components that contributed to participants reporting a mindful experience or a mindless experience, respectively. Qualitative data were collected via photo-elicitation interviews with 20 informants who completed the 2020 Illinois Marathon Virtual Race in the United States. Findings showed that components that led to informants reporting a mindful experience included: 1) a self-created connection to place, 2) bounded creativity, and 3) an adaptive mindset, whilst components that led to informants reporting a mindless experience included 1) the absence of event formalities and 2) anchoring bias. Based on these findings, we developed a model of mindful/mindless virtual race experiences. Implications for active leisure event literature and mindfulness theory were discussed, along with practical recommendations for how event managers and participants can co-create a mindful virtual race experience.

Rethinking student agency through ‘material agency’ in the context of learning in nature

Student agency theorising traditionally positions individuals as sovereign and under-theorises the role non-human material elements play in enacting agency. We recognise the role of the material but to honour our research participants and context we adopt an asymmetrical view of the agency of the material non-human in relation to the human in co-shaping agency. We apply this view to students learning in nature, and data from a developmental evaluation of visitor experience of an outdoor learning centre. Student and teacher participants took photographs representing their connection to nature on two occasions. Intrigued by the role the camera, the site and its material elements played in participants’ photographs, and photo-elicitation interviews, we conceptualised the relationships at work as joint human/non-human material collaborations. We argue educators’ recognition of the material agency of settings can assist them in understanding students’ agentic positioning within the political imperative of connecting humans to nature as curriculum.

Exploring interests: A pathway to ikigai and eudaimonic well-being among people with serious mental illness.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept of a life worth living and related to eudaimonic well-being. Supporting the pursuit of ikigai is of central importance to recovery-oriented psychiatric rehabilitation for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI). While research suggests that work, leisure, and social relationships are potential sources of ikigai, people with SMI have restricted access to these as they encounter systemic barriers to participating in such activities. This study investigated how people with SMI in Japan pursued sources of ikigai in the face of barriers. A total of 21 community-living individuals who had SMI and were recruited from community psychiatric rehabilitation service providers in Japan participated in the study. Photo-elicitation interviews were conducted, and the interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were generated: (a) self-determination as a key to ikigai, (b) explorations needed to identify sources of ikigai, and (c) navigating the challenges to engage in the explorations. It was found that a self-determined activity tends to be a source of ikigai. However, participants had to grapple with challenges because identifying a source of ikigai involved the exploration of their personal interests, and the exploration could not be continued without managing the stigma of mental illness. Results suggest that ikigai cannot be achieved instantly. To achieve eudaimonic well-being outcomes, psychiatric rehabilitation professionals should allow consumers to choose activities based on their personal interests and encourage them to try out various activities while they provide continued support to overcome stigma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The anatomy of body shaming in sports coaching

Stories of body shaming in sports coaching are becoming widespread, and can intentionally, unintentionally, or inadvertently be used in different sports coaching practices. These practices do not necessarily intend to harm athletes. The aim of this paper is to explore body critical and body sensitive sport coaching practices that have the potential to be shaming, or as we call it in the title, the ‘anatomy’ of body shaming. The study used photo elicitation interviews including vignettes for data generation with 12 coaches from nine different sports. The results demonstrate that body criticality and body sensitivity function in different subtle ways and that coaches were well-aware of the potentially damaging influence that they can have on athletes. The article concludes with recommendations for further research exploring how athletes experience the most subtle and invisible ways of body critical and body sensitive practices, and how they internalize this well-intended but still potentially shaming advice.

Building resilience and teaching learners about sustainable living through outdoor swimming and water safety learning

ABSTRACT A new curriculum was implemented in Norwegian schools in 2020 that aimed to teach learners about sustainable living through outdoor swimming and water safety (SWS). Employing sense of coherence (SOC) as a theoretical framework, this study examines how teachers built resilience and taught learners sustainable living through outdoor SWS lessons, focusing on comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. It was conducted in Norway during outdoor SWS lessons at a local beach. Observations and photo-elicitation interviews (PEIs) were conducted with two primary school teachers. Data were analysed using template analysis, with SOC forming the a priori themes. Findings revealed that teachers facilitated resilience building through experiential learning, allowing learners to engage with tasks, peers, and their environment. Exposing learners to adverse water situations and giving them control over their learning process may build resilience and well-being. Furthermore, teachers’ insights into outdoor learning processes can inspire better policies and practices for sustainable, health-promoting education.

I do not expect much ikigai from work: A failed link between employment and well-being among adults with serious mental illness

BACKGROUND: Researchers argue that employment positively affects the well-being of people with serious mental illness. However, empirical studies have provided limited support for these hypotheses. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate perceptions of employment in relation to the meaning and purpose of life, an important aspect of well-being, among people with serious mental illness. METHOD: Qualitative research design was employed. Psychiatric service users with a history of employment (n = 21) were recruited from Japan. Photo-elicitation interviews were conducted, and the interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Employment was recognized as a source of life meaning and purpose when it reflected personal values such as mastery and contribution to society. Employment was not recognized as relevant to life’s meaning and purpose if it was regarded as an instrumental activity for making a living. Nevertheless, participants generally agreed that employment was indispensable because it was essential for fulfilling their basic needs and overcoming the stigma of mental illness. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate diverse attitudes toward employment among people with serious mental illness, which may explain why employment had only a small effect on well-being.

Doing and belonging: A photo-elicitation study on place attachment of older adults living in depopulated rural areas

ABSTRACT Background The relationship between doing and belonging is rooted in individuals’ engagement in meaningful occupations, which contributes to their sense of connectedness. The meaningfulness of occupation relates closely to the context in which it is performed. However, despite its importance, context is often overlooked and underexplored. Aim To explore how older adults living in depopulated rural areas depict positive and negative features of their neighbourhoods and how belonging was connected to doing and participation. Methods We utilised data from photo-elicited interviews with 7 men and 10 women, aged 68 to 88 years, from depopulated rural areas in southern Sweden. Data were analysed using Rowles’ place attachment framework with a thematic analysis. Results The participants expressed how belonging was connected to doing by depicting resources in the area, how community was created through interaction, the importance of past actions for present belonging, how they acted on pride and feelings of obligation, as well as how they experienced challenges for doing and belonging. Discussion Our study revealed a reciprocal relationship of doing and belonging. Specifically, doing strengthened participants’ belonging, while feelings of belonging resulted in loyalty and motivated supportive community actions. Importantly, participants’ actions were more driven by a collective interest in community welfare than personal gain. Conclusions This study contributes to occupational science by knowing how doing supports belonging and vice versa. Furthermore, our study showed that belonging can serve as a catalyst for older adults to engage in their community, which likely reduces the risk of social exclusion.

Healthy, family-friendly apartment kitchen design: a study of practice in Melbourne, Australia

This study explored constraints and opportunities in apartment kitchen design for family home cooking and dining. An online audit of 115 two-bedroom apartments in three Melbourne suburbs of Australia was conducted, with images collected from the audit guiding photo-elicitation interviews on the kitchen designs, with architects from firms involved in apartment complex design. Affordance theory provided a conceptual lens to thematically analyse the design process and outcome in relation to architectural practice. Based on previously developed criteria, results from the audit revealed that only 18 (16%) had adequate kitchen design for families with children across five features assessed, with four themes emerging from interviews that identified constraints and facilitators to kitchen design practice: “Limited policy standards”; Architect assumptions align with market-led preferences”; “Built environment and apartment typology constraints”; and “Small scale design opportunities”. Findings provide unique insights into architects’ perspectives on apartment design, deepening understandings of how to support healthy family home food preparation and dining.