Photovoice Workshops Research Articles

Beautiful but fragile: the experiences of family/carer lived experience workers within mental health services

ABSTRACT Objective Family/carer Lived Experience (LE) workers are increasingly being hired in Victorian mental health services, bringing their personal experience of supporting someone using these services and the ability to apply that experience in their roles. This project asked family/carer LE workers in Victoria, Australia to detail their experiences of working in these roles, how their personal lived experience of caring intersected with their work, and what they thought was needed to make family/carer LE work sustainable. Method A co-produced mixed-method design was used, including a survey of 62 Victorian family/carer LE workers and photovoice workshops attended by ten workers. The survey captured broad workforce trends, while the workshops provided narratives illustrating work experiences. Data from both sources were analysed separately and then combined into categories reflecting key dimensions of the family/carer LE worker experience. Results The findings were grouped into the following categories: Passion for the Work, Working Relationally in an Individualistic System, Undervalued and Poorly Understood, Workplace Conditions, Training and Development, Isolation, Beautiful but Fragile, Impact of the Work, and What is Sustaining the Work. Discussion This project emphasised the unique emotional labour family/carer LE workers perform and the specific supports they need. A clear model of practice for the profession is necessary, alongside cultural changes within mental health organisations to better integrate the strengths of this workforce.

Navigating uncertainties for promoting nurse-led changes in work environments: a participatory action research

BackgroundThe nursing work environment is crucial for nurses' well-being and patients’ quality of care. Despite effective interventions to improve the nursing work environment, understanding the most effective types and integration mechanisms for nurses remain challenging. As nursing practices evolve amid complex care demands and staff shortages, understanding nurses’ challenges, support systems, and adoption mechanisms is vital to optimize the work environment and to enhance quality of care, job satisfaction, and staff retention. PurposeTo explore strategies for promoting and supporting nurse-led changes to improving their work environment. MethodsThe study employed a participatory action research design on three nursing wards in a Dutch academic hospital. Action research teams with diverse ward nurses were established on each ward. The research took place between September 2022 and October 2023. Data were collected during observations, PhotoVoice workshops, and individual interviews. Data were analyzed using the rigorous and accelerated data reduction technique. ResultsNurses and managers showed patterns of behavior that either hindered or facilitated changes, leading to the emergence of three themes: strengthening relationships, taking the lead, and being up to the task. These themes highlight the importance of fostering collaboration, encouraging proactive attitudes, and building capabilities to address challenges and drive positive changes in their work environment. Feelings of uncertainty emerged in all themes, and this uncertainty hindered nurses from taking responsibility for facilitating change. ConclusionsThis study demonstrated different mechanisms that either facilitate or hinder nurse-led changes and how feelings of uncertainty play a role. Nurses emphasized the importance of collaboration and proactive attitudes but faced challenges in recognizing responsibility and their perceived competencies. Strengthening nurses' resilience to and management of uncertainty is essential. Healthcare organizations should help nurses navigate uncertainty to foster positive changes. Tweetable abstractCollaboration, proactivity, and competency are key in nurse-led changes. Strengthening nurses' resilience and uncertainty management is crucial.

‘Decolonizing’ citizenship learning with international students

This article explores the possibilities for decolonizing approaches to inter-cultural learning for international students in Canada. In this article the authors present the findings from a series of photovoice workshops conducted as a part of a larger mixed-methods project that explores how informal and everyday pedagogies shape international students’ mobility decisions in the Atlantic Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Participants’ collaborative analysis of their own photographs reveal how everyday citizenship learning emerges from international students’ affective relationships to place in such a way that obscures how international education is implicated in processes of settler colonialism. However, evidence suggests that participants’ sense of belonging is deeply implicated in their connections to place, highlighting potential opportunities for integrating international students in current initiatives to “decolonize” higher education in the Canadian context.

How Is COVID-19 Impacting You? A Community-Based Photovoice Workshop.

How Is COVID-19 Impacting You? A Community-Based Photovoice Workshop.

Using Citizen Science to examine health and access to health care of uninsured patients in Germany

Abstract Background Estimates suggest that numerous people live without health insurance in Germany. Existing evidence on uninsured patients’ health and care use is scarce, specifically in Germany. The present study involves citizens’ engagement to identify community perceptions of factors associated with health and medical care and to generate community-driven policy recommendations. Methods Representatives of civil society, affected patients and citizens (‘co-researchers') participate in a participatory health research project (MoveCitizenS) located in Bonn, Germany, using Photovoice and Community-based Mapping. The study is composed of five work packages over a 24-month period: (1) Photovoice workshops for co-researchers to produce, select and analyse photographs; (2) a series of workshops to conduct community-based mapping to identify barriers and facilitators of health care utilization; (3) workshops to co-design a cross-sectional survey of uninsured patients (n = 300); (4) project evaluation by co-researchers; (5) a dissemination strategy (e.g. advocacy event, exhibition) will be developed. Results Procedures to facilitate the active engagement of citizens and patients are discussed. Preliminary results on community perceptions of uninsured patients’ health and medical care and factors influencing health outcomes and care utilization are presented at the conference. Conclusions This is the first citizen science study which facilitates the understanding of barriers and enabling factors of good health and access to medical care for patients who lack health insurance coverage in Germany. This case study of a participatory project can be adapted to a range of settings to integrate local perspectives to improve population health for all. Key messages • Numerous patients in Germany are uninsured but evidence on their health and medical care is lacking. • Using participatory methods to address these key questions is an important approach to generate suitable policy recommendations to meet the needs of the community and improve population health.

포토보이스를 통해 본 비대면 시대 청년의 불안 경험

This study aims to reflect on various anxieties experienced by young people amid the prolonged non-face-to-face situation caused by COVID-19. For data collection, Photovoice, one of the participatory research methods, was used. Photovoice is a method in which the participant becomes the agent and takes pictures related to the research topic and actively interpret them. During the process, research participants become actively aware of the situation they are in, and can reflect and explore alternatives to the situation through photographs. This study selected a total of 12 young people as participants and held photo voice workshops and in-depth interviews. The analysis of the results of photovoice activities classified data into 5 categories, 17 topics, and 79 units. The result of the study found young people suffering from total anxiety such as the disappearance of exploring period to prepare for the future, economic crisis and gap between rich and poor, loss of emotional support groups and lack of relationships, shrinking job market, and dissatisfaction with universities. Despite the deepening psychological and emotional crisis and anxiety, young people re-planned their lives and prepared for new challenges. Along with the importance of adapting to digital technology, they were also aware of the negative impact of technology development. Therefore, this study is meaningful in that it analyzed their anxious lives in various aspects in the absence of previous studies on the anxiety experiences of young people in their daily lives after COVID-19, and that it confirmed that Korean society has the need to actively cope with youth anxiety.

Burden of support: a counter narrative of service users’ experiences with community housing services

Community housing services adopt care models such as rehabilitation, recovery-oriented care and person-centered planning to improve the quality of life of service users with an intellectual or psychiatric disability. However, the way these care models are implemented and practiced can negatively impact service users’ experience with the service as their complex needs go unmet. In this paper, we conceptualize these experiences through developing the counternarrative of burdens of support. For this we draw on burden of treatment theory. We conducted ethnographic fieldwork in a community service organization in the Netherlands. This included participant observation (84 h), interviews with service users (n = 20), experts-by-experience (n = 8), family members (n = 10) and photovoice workshops. Our analysis identifies four burdens of support: burden of self-determination; re-identification; responsibilisation and re-placement. The results show that burden of support is very much a relational concept: through their support, professionals can aggravate or alleviate burden.

Experience-based investigation and codesign of approaches to prevent and reduce Mental Health Act use (CO-PACT): a protocol

IntroductionThe Independent Review of the Mental Health Act (MHA) in England and Wales confirmed increasing levels of compulsory detentions, especially for racialised communities. This research aims to: (a) understand the...

Perceived Support and Sense of Social Belonging in Young Adults Who Have a Parent With a Mental Illness.

This participatory action research explores the perceived social support of youth whose parents have a mental illness during their transition to adulthood. Social support is an important protection factor during this developmental period, but few studies have explored how these young adults perceive their social support. Nor has any study assessed whether participation in a group-based participatory action research project could improve these youth's sense of support.Purpose: (1) identify which aspects of social support these youth spontaneously address when talking about their experiences in Photovoice workshops; (2) explore how participants view these types of workshops as a good way to improve their sense of social support and belonging.Methodology: Ten young adults (nine women and one man) between the ages of 18 and 25 who have at least one parent with a mental illness participated in Photovoice meetings in 2019. These group meetings aimed to explore and share their experiences as young adults whose parents have a mental illness. The testimonies were combined with data obtained from the abbreviated version of the Social Provisions Scale and the Scale of Social Belonging.Results: The quantitative results suggest that participants consider their social support levels to be high, but their qualitative statements highlight low level or absence of parental support in terms of emotional, informative or instrumental levels. They see themselves as an important source of support for their parent and discuss the importance of having other supports figures (romantic partner, employer, friends, sibling, etc.). Conversely, they have difficulty asking for help for various reasons (including fear of stigma). They consider that their participation in this Photovoice project allowed them to feel heard, supported and to develop a sense of belonging to a group.Discussion: To conclude, clinical issues to be considered for psychosocial intervention with young adults of parents with a mental illness are discussed.

"You get to understand we are all human beings": Community solidarity initiatives as spaces of recognition, resistance, and change.

In Ireland the Direct Provision system segregates and excludes displaced people from the host community, and informal community solidarity initiatives (CSIs) were established nationwide to address this issue. We examined experiences of intergroup contact in CSIs and related contexts to identify how solidarity is produced, and for whom, through photovoice workshops (Study 1: n = 13) with displaced participants of two CSIs, and interviews (Study 2: n = 5) with resident/national stakeholders of four CSIs. In Study 1, we identified three themes: "Orienting to future and collective identities in Direct Provision," "Negotiating intersectional identities in public settings," and "Recognition of valued collective identities in the CSI." In Study 2, we identified two themes: "Negotiating privileged identities and power asymmetries," and "Facilitating change through social connections." CSIs offered temporary respite from the oppression and discrimination displaced people experienced in other contexts and enabled them to resist dehumanizing representations through expression and recognition of valued identities. Connections within and across groups fostered relational solidarity, shifted intergroup norms, and opened opportunities for displaced people to access resources. Accordingly, our findings have implications for public policy, community research, and action to create just and equitable conditions for displaced people in receiving countries.

A Photovoice Study to Reveal Community Perceptions of Highly Processed Packaged Foods in India

ABSTRACT India is experiencing a nutrition transition, with sales of packaged and processed foods rapidly increasing in recent years. This study sought to understand the views and experiences of self-help groups about highly processed, packaged food in Visakhapatnam, India, using the Photovoice method. Participants were able to record, reflect on and critique their environments through participatory analysis, identifying key themes, and offering a critical lens on their food environment and experiences. On an average eight and 14 members participated in the Photovoice workshops held in urban and rural Visakhapatnam respectively. The key themes emerging from the photos and text data are that participants experienced highly processed packaged foods as being: 1) democratic (easily available and consumed by all, affordable and accessible; 2) convenient (easy to prepare) and 3) unhealthy (for human consumption and for environmental sustainability). These data demonstrate the challenges facing public health nutritionists in wishing to shift dietary behaviors to healthy habits: on the surface participants acknowledged their unhealthy characteristics, however these products may now be embedded in dietary culture. Traditional methods for changing dietary habits may not be able to capture the complexity and systems approach is required to explore the most effective entry points for affecting change.

'I want to buy my own block of land': Representation of urban settlement communities in Papua New Guinea

Urban settlements are home to around half the urban population of Papua New Guinea. Since the end of the Second World War, PNG towns and cities have experienced significant growth of urban settlements. Urban dwellings were established on customary and untransformed state lands. With limited support for services from government, informal settlements in the urban landscape have often been perceived from the perspective of their deficiencies. However, residents of urban settlement communities play an important role in urban economies. The purpose of this article is to critically review perceptions of settlements and issues affecting settlement communities in PNG, both in the mainstream media and from within settlement communities. The authors first present a media content analysis of reporting on settlement communities on PNG’s main online media sites. Second, they examine urban market vendors’ personal experiences of the challenges and solutions of living in Kamkumung Settlement in Lae. Drawing on storytelling and photovoice workshops with market vendors at Awagasi market, they argue for the need for media actively to include the voices of settlement residents. The article suggests that, by better understanding the context and personal experience of residents, journalists and the media could make a stronger contribution to sustainable development and urban planning in PNG.

Sleepless in Taipei: The application of photovoice method to explore the major challenges perceived by homeless people facing multifaceted social exclusion

Homeless people typically experience multiple social exclusions that severely affect their well-being. Therefore, based on clients’ participation, this study aims to explore what homeless people facing multifaceted social exclusion perceive as their biggest challenges in daily life, thereby rethinking the current homelessness policies and practices in Taiwan. Using the photovoice method, six homeless people living in the vicinity of the Taipei Main Station participated in the three-stage project. They took photographs to illustrate the main life difficulties and satisfactions they faced and engaged in dialogues through the images presented in the photographs. Through the photovoice workshops, ‘poor sleep’ was identified as their major common predicament, and all participants responded with strong emotions about the dire need to sleep well. In the final stage, homeless participants proposed the ‘Sleep First’ solution based on their own perspectives, which supported the philosophy of the ‘Housing First’ approach to addressing homelessness.

Indigenous Women Voicing Experiences of HIV Stigma and Criminalization Through Art


 
 
 Indigenous women living with HIV are disproportionately affected by the criminalization of HIV nondisclosure. The purpose of this paper is to better understand how the criminalization of HIV nondisclosure shapes the lived experiences of HIV-related stigma, disclosure, and health service among cis and transgender Indigenous women living with HIV (IWLWH). This study was developed based on a community roundtable on HIV criminalization with engagement of legal experts, HIV service organizations, and IWLWH on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the ter̓ritories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) in 2016 to 2018. Drawing on community-based participatory photovoice methodology, Indigenous Peer Researchers played a central role throughout this project, including planning, facilitation of photo-voice workshops, and analysis. This analysis includes 17 IWLWH. Through a peer-engaged analysis process, the photovoice images and narratives illustrated how the criminalization of HIV nondisclosure is intertwined with colonial violence to shape experiences of social isolation and exclusion, disclosure, access to safe health care, responsibility, fear, and resilience. The legal requirements of HIV nondisclosure are unattainable for many IWLWH who are not able to safely disclose their HIV status, negotiate condom use, and maintain a low viral load. In line with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the justice system must be reoriented from punishment and oppression to healing and wellbeing for all Indigenous women living with HIV. Simultaneously, we call for culturally safe services that protect privacy and recognize strengths of IWLWH.
 
 

Language and Education: Photovoice Workshops and the !Xun and Khwe Bushmen

ABSTRACT Photovoice is a participatory research tool that facilitates the hearing of marginalised communities to instigate social change. Many Bushmen are concerned about the maintenance of their language and culture, while their educational needs are not being met. As these individuals often profess to feel unheard, photovoice workshops aim to bring such voices out into the open, with the resulting visual images often providing more powerful and emotional messages than script alone. Workshops were facilitated within the !Xun and Khwe communities at Platfontein in the Northern Cape of South Africa. The aim was to elicit the views and concerns of participants regarding indigenous language and education to facilitate seminar presentations, and publications, made more powerful through the use of visual images coupled with captions written by participants. This study is an evaluation of how these workshops were received by the participants.

Rebuilding Life after Burn Injuries in Korea: Using Photovoice.

This study analyzed life after injury for burn survivors using the photovoice research method. Study participants were six burn survivors who lived in the community after being discharged from the hospital. These six participants engaged in a series of photovoice workshops and activities that took place over a period of 4 months. The study results were as follows: burn survivors were able to achieve a positive body image during their physical recovery. They overcame many psychological difficulties that accompanied their burn injuries. Their attitudes toward their lives changed positively. The greatest influence in bringing out these changes was support from family, friends, and other burn survivors. They were better able to fight against social oppression with their recovered self-esteem. The participants had experienced a disconnect from the activities and interpersonal relationships they had prior to their injury owing to long-term hospital stays and time away from work. However, as they began new social activities, they were able to establish new interpersonal relationships. Based on the research results, this study suggests that medical, psychological, and social approaches as well as positive changes in social attitude are necessary to support burn survivors' recovery.

Nuestras Historias- Designing a novel digital story intervention through participatory methods to improve maternal and child health in the Peruvian Amazon.

BackgroundIn rural areas of the Loreto region within the Peruvian Amazon, maternal mortality rate is above the national average and the majority of women deliver at home without care from a trained health care provider.MethodsTo develop community-tailored videos that could be used for future interventions, we conducted Photovoice and digital storytelling workshops with community health workers (CHW) and mothers from 13 rural communities in the Parinari district. Through Photovoice we recognized local barriers to healthy pregnancies. Participants (n = 28) were trained in basic photography skills and ethics. They captured photos representing perceived pregnancy-related road-blocks and supports, and these photos identified central themes. Participants recorded personal stories and “storyboarded” to develop digital stories around these themes, and a Digital Story Curriculum called Nuestras Historias (Our Stories), was created. An acceptability survey of the digital stories was then conducted including 47 men (M) and 60 women (F).ResultsAccording to the PhotoVoice workshops, pregnancy-related problems included: lack of partner support, domestic violence, early pregnancies, difficulty attending prenatal appointments, and complications during pregnancy and delivery. Over 30 stories on these themes were recorded. Seven were selected based on clarity, thematic relevance, and narrative quality and were edited by a professional filmmaker. The acceptability survey showed that local participants found the digital stories novel (M = 89.4%, F = 83.3%), relatable (M = 89.4%, F = 93.2%), educational (M = 91.5%, F = 93.3%) and shareable (M = 100%, F = 100%). Over 90% of respondents rated the digital stories as “Excellent” or “Good”, found the videos “Useful” and considered them “Relevant” to their communities.ConclusionsThe digital stories address community-specific problems through narrative persuasion using local voices and photography. This combination had a high acceptability among the target population and can serve as a model for developing educational strategies in a community-tailored manner. This package of seven videos will be further evaluated through a cluster randomized trial.

Multiple non-climatic drivers of food insecurity reinforce climate change maladaptation trajectories among Peruvian Indigenous Shawi in the Amazon.

BackgroundClimate change is affecting food systems globally, with implications for food security, nutrition, and the health of human populations. There are limited data characterizing the current and future consequences of climate change on local food security for populations already experiencing poor nutritional indicators. Indigenous Amazonian populations have a high reported prevalence of nutritional deficiencies. This paper characterizes the food system of the Shawi of the Peruvian Amazon, climatic and non-climatic drivers of their food security vulnerability to climate change, and identifies potential maladaptation trajectories.Methods and findingsSemi-structured interviews with key informants (n = 24), three photovoice workshops (n = 17 individuals), transect walks (n = 2), a food calendar exercise, and two community dissemination meetings (n = 30 individuals), were conducted within two Shawi communities in Balsapuerto District in the Peruvian Loreto region between June and September of 2014. The Shawi food system was based on three main food sub-systems (forest, farming and externally-sourced). Shawi reported collective, gendered, and emotional notions related to their food system activities. Climatic and non-climatic drivers of food security vulnerability among Shawi participants acted at proximal and distal levels, and mutually reinforced key maladaptation trajectories, including: 1) a growing population and natural resource degradation coupled with limited opportunities to increase incomes, and 2) a desire for education and deforestation reinforced by governmental social and food interventions.ConclusionA series of maladaptive trajectories have the potential to increase social and nutritional inequities for the Shawi. Transformational food security adaptation should include consideration of Indigenous perceptions and priorities, and should be part of Peruvian food and socioeconomic development policies.

Using Photovoice as a method to engage bereaved adults with intellectual disabilities in research: listening, learning and developing good practice principles

PurposePeople with intellectual disabilities experiencing loss or bereavement are at risk of developing additional mental health problems, and may struggle to access suitable support. The purpose of this paper is to present the adaptations done while using Photovoice as a creative method for bereaved people with intellectual disabilities participating in a research exploring loss and support. This paper will further briefly add information on how the use of Photovoice supported the development of whole research project.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the use of Photovoice as a method of research engagement for bereaved adults with intellectual disabilities. Photovoice enables participants to take and discuss photographs illustrating their loss and support experiences. The paper focusses on a preparatory Photovoice workshop with the research participants, outlining the processes and activities used to maximise involvement, promote learning and achieve shared understanding.FindingsPreparation was the key to the effectiveness of this workshop and it recommends that appropriate adaptions are useful in Photovoice with adults with intellectual disabilities effectively. The paper outlines principles of good practice for using Photovoice in this research context, which may transfer to other similar research settings. Using Photovoice facilitated later one-to-one interviews with the participants, where their photographs were discussed together.Originality/valueThis paper illustrates the innovative use of Photovoice methodology in research involving bereaved people with intellectual disabilities. Photovoice has not previously been used with this specific population within the bereavement and loss context, so this paper adds to the developing evidence base.

‘We are more than EFL teachers – we are educators’: emancipating EFL student-teachers through photovoice

The prevailing pedagogical orientations of English as a foreign language (EFL) education in Spain oppress learners intellectually in ways that are counterproductive to their learning. As a reaction to this, 129 EFL student-teachers (STs) took part during the 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16 academic years in a workshop which drew on the methodology of participatory action research and on photovoice as a data-creating strategy, in order to emancipate these STs intellectually, boost their EFL development, and offer an alternative critical model for their future EFL teaching. The research was assessed collectively through a variety of qualitative strategies. Results showed that the photovoice workshop created a rich and meaningful context for EFL learning, one which enabled the STs to fully actualize their intellectual potential by producing knowledge collectively, thereby setting a memorable educational example for their own future teaching.