Nosotros Los Jovenes Tenemos Una Capacidad: Promoting Health and Wellness from the Perspective of Youth in Las Malvinas, II, Dominican Republic

Background and Purpose

Located in the northeast region of Dominican Republic’s capital, Las Malvinas II is a vibrant community facing multiple challenges including unemployment, teen pregnancy, interrupted education, and lack of appropriate sanitation system. In 2016, Clemson University faculty and students partnered with the neighborhood association and community residents of Las Malvinas II to conduct a community health assessment where 5 major priorities were identified: sanitation, education, teen pregnancy, diseases preventable by vaccine, and chronic diseases. While adults played a significant role designing recommendations in regards to adolescent health, there were no opportunities for the young people in the community to share their perspectives on these issues.

This presentation builds on existing efforts in the community and describes the processes as well as the data outcomes that aimed to explore youth perceptions on factors that promote and hinder the health and wellbeing of young people in Las Malvinas II. This multi-disciplinary, multi-university Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) study engaged 8 youth between the ages of 18 to 24 in a week-long participatory photovoice study. Critical pedagogy was implemented as a framework to recognize inequities and empower youth as agents of change by engaging in critical reflection of their personal experiences in relation to the social issues examined.

 

Methods

Youth were engaged in participatory photovoice in which they explored factors that promote and/or hinder the health and wellbeing of youth in Las Malvinas, II. Youth (n=8) were recruited to participate in initial training, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Critical pedagogy framework was integrated throughout the sessions to examine health inequities in the context of youth lives. Youth defined health in their own terms and identified additional key health priority areas to explore. Through a youth-adult partnership model, Clemson University students as well as UNIBE students provided essential support and mentoring to youth researchers with logistics such as usage of cameras as well as writing. Youth researchers held a community event to present their findings to key community stakeholders including representatives from the municipal government and the neighborhood association.

 

Findings and implications

Engaging youth in CBPR and health assessment through participatory photovoice presents multiple benefits to the youth and the community. When provided with the appropriate opportunities, youth can make significant contributions to the betterment of the community. Thus, it is important to design spaces that leverage youth strengths recognizing they have unique perspectives that need to be considered by key stakeholders. Results showcased that youth conceptualized health differently from adults and identified additional six health priority areas which include: access to a good nutrition, sleep, chatting (social media), depression, healthy romantic relationships, and violence. Participatory photovoice provides opportunities to increase youth participation and transferring power to youth.