Photovoice Blog Series

Blog #1: The Photovoice Method

Ogai brings with her valuable experience in patient and public engagement (PPE) with immigrant and refugee communities through her Master’s thesis, which involved understanding perceptions of mental health and unique barriers to accessing mental health services. In this series, Ogai guides the reader through the photovoice participatory research method, and provides step-by-step examples of ways to engage participants throughout the research process.

“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”

-Arundhati Roy, 2004 Sydney Peace Prize Winner

The quote above is quite powerful and speaks volumes. Looking through history, there are many examples of how research has excluded, marginalized, and oppressed certain groups and populations. In this blog series, I describe the photovoice method as a way to engage in research and create a platform for marginalized and under-represented individuals to share and express their voices and concerns.

What is Photovoice?

In the mid 1990s, Dr. Wang and colleagues developed the photovoice method as a creative approach to participatory action research [1]. Photovoice is a qualitative method in which participants express themselves and their communities by taking photographs that reflect research themes. Images have been used throughout history as a way for people to express themselves and their needs. Images captured through photovoice reflect the realities that influence individuals’ lives.

Photovoice aims to empower those most marginalized in our society — those whose voices are often not heard or included in decisions (such as health services) — by harnessing the impact of visual imagery. Not only does photovoice aim to make the voices of marginalized and oppressed groups heard, it also has the power to influence social policy and promote social action by involving individuals in the process of reflecting their own reality through research.

The Five Key Concepts of Photovoice

1. Images Teach

It’s true when they say “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Images have the potential to convey more meaning, feeling, and connections than text. The meanings we weave into images further add to their power and influence.

2. Images Can Influence Policy

Although images on their own will not shape policy, they can influence people’s worldview. Therefore, images can influence policymakers, community advocates, and society as a whole.

3. Community Members are the Ones that Create and Define Images

Photovoice is not just about people taking photographs, it’s about capturing images and scenes that provide context and meaning to one’s story and perspective.

4. Importance of Engagement

It’s critical to engage community advocates and influential people to serve as an audience for community members’ perspectives displayed through photovoice.

5. Action-Oriented

Photovoice emphasizes individual and community action [2].

Why Photovoice?

Photovoice has been used worldwide and for a broad range of issues, across diverse cultures, age groups, and has addressed sexual orientation, health, ability, and gender.

The process of photovoice has been implemented to address a variety of public health and social justice concerns ranging from sexual health issues and living with HIV/AIDS, to discrimination, homelessness, barriers to mental health care, and immigration.

Photovoice has been used to conduct research not only with adults, but also has shown success in studies with older adults and youth. For example, Dr. Roberta Woodgate (University of Manitoba) uses photovoice and other methods to give voice to children and youth living with chronic physical and mental illnesses. For more photovoice examples, check out photovoice.org.

Photovoice puts cameras in the hands of individuals and invites them to be active participants in the research process. It encourages those who often don’t get a say to finally voice their experiences, perspectives, and analysis through the photographs they capture. Coupled with group discussion, photovoice can help give marginalized people a better understanding of their community concerns. The experience of photovoice can mobilize communities to action. For more guidance on using the photovoice method, check out Manitoba’s Photovoice for Community Development Guide.

The 3 Main Benefits of Photovoice

1. Enable people to record and reflect their community strengths and concerns;
2. Through large or small group discussion, promote critical dialogue and knowledge about important community issues; and
3. Provide an opportunity to reach policy makers and others who can mobilize change [3].

Critiques of Photovoice

Although photovoice has many advantages, nothing is without its flaws. There are some noted issues that may arise using a photovoice methodology, including:

• Concern that photovoice may place the burden of social change on less powerful groups in society. It is important to be cautious and ensure those who hold power are also charged with the responsibility of restoring equality.
• Although photovoice involves participants at each step of the research process, it does not shift power to them to make policy changes.
• Participants may feel a sense of hopelessness and/or helplessness when change resulting from the project comes slowly, or not at all.
• Photovoice can be expensive and time-consuming. Research teams need to be cognizant of the costs, as well as the commitment required from everyone involved.
• Some individuals may not feel comfortable sharing in a group setting, as is part of the photovoice method.

No research method is perfect but the photovoice method serves as an opportunity for people to be active participants who are meaningfully engaged in the research process.

In the next instalment of the photovoice series, we examine the importance of community partnership and recruitment. Find links to the 2 follow-up posts below:

Photovoice Blog # 2 : Community Partnership & Hard-to-Reach Populations

Photovoice Blog #3: The Research Process

References

1. Wang C & Burris M. Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Educ Behav, 1997;24(3): 369–87.
2. Wang C. Photovoice: A participatory action research strategy applied to women’s health. J Women’s Health, 1999;8(2), 185–92.
3. Wang C, Cash J & Powers L. Who knows the streets as well as the homeless? Promoting personal and community action through photovoice. Health Promo Pract, 2000;1(1), 81–89.

About the Author

Ogai Sherzoi is a knowledge broker in patient and public engagement at the George & Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation (CHI).