Photovoice empowers community members to use cameras to record their specific community concerns and share their knowledge with a larger audience to initiate change (Wang, 2006). Partnerships between community members and researchers integrate community awareness and action based on the lived experiences of residents (Hergenrather, Rhodes, & Bardhoshi, 2009). This symposium will present three community based research studies that used photovoice to engage residents in addressing a range of issues, including residential transitions, crime and violence, and community health and wellbeing.
The first presenter will discuss the use of photovoice with older African American adults at an assisted living facility. Using the ORID technique for facilitating focus group discussion (Valera, Gallin, Schuk, & Davis, 2009), participants were asked to Observe, Reflect on, and Interpret photographic images of their residential environment before Deciding on possible solutions to an identified concern. Residents presented suggested programmatic enhancements to facility administrators. This presentation will demonstrate how photovoice can be used to build social engagement and advocacy among aging residents and to identify salient aspects of a “home” environment for older adults who have transitioned to congregate living.
The second presenter will discuss how photovoice was used as part of a community research project focused on facilitating collective efficacy, which has been associated with lower levels of neighborhood crime and violence (Morenoff, Sampson, & Raudenbush, 2001; Sampson, Raudenbush & Earls, 1997). Youth and adults used cameras to identify community norms and how those norms contributed to or helped alleviate crime and violence in their neighborhoods. The results were presented to community stakeholders during the last session of the training and used by participants to develop a community crime prevention project in their neighborhood.
The third presenter will discuss an innovative method for engaging non-photovoice participants in the dissemination of photovoice artwork. This approach parallels the “SHOWED” method for engaging photovoice participants in critical reflection of their situation and the construction of visual and written narratives to convey these insights (Wang & Burris, 1994). Accordingly, the proposed “LENS” method of engagement includes four guiding questions to facilitate critical reflection among non-photovoice participants. This presentation will feature the results of LENS analyses completed by 170 viewers of a museum exhibit that featured photovoice artwork created by public housing residents.
This symposium demonstrates how a unique community based research method can make a difference in the lives of youth and adults faced with difficult issues. The papers presented illustrate how photovoice can be easily incorporated into community based research to empower residents and build their capacity to create healthy communities.
