Recorded presentation

Jonathan W Necheles, MD¹, Kenneth Wells, MD², Jennifer Hawes-Dawson, BA³, Emily Chung, BA, Raphael Travis, MSW⁵, and Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD⁶. (1) Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, UCLA, 911 Broxton Ave, Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90024, 310 794 2904, necheles@ucla.edu, (2) Health Division, RAND, 1700 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90407, (3) 1700 Main Street, RAND, P.O. Box 2138, MS: M-18, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138, (4) School of Public Health (Community Health Sciences), UCLA, 3170 Sawtelle Blvd., #209, Los Angeles, CA 90066, (5) Department of Pediatrics, UCLA, Box 951752, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1752

Purpose: The Teen Photovoice program is a community-based participatory research project that seeks to explore community influences on adolescent health behaviors. It uses the Photovoice methodology and is interpreted within a Grounded Theoretical framework. Methods: Fourteen adolescents of diverse ethnic backgrounds from the Los Angeles area serving on a Youth Council for the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion were recruited. Each participant received a digital still camera and was instructed to photograph images in their communities that they feel illustrate influences on their health behaviors. Youth in four Los Angeles area communities participated in a 10 session curriculum based on published Photovoice projects. Participants have taken hundreds of digital photos from which they are selecting 25 to print for each meeting. These pictures are used for activities held during each session conducted in their respective communities. Findings: Preliminary pile sort and semi-structured interviews utilizing printed images have identified four core themes: food and the environment, stress and school, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and garbage in their community. Participants have recognized these core themes as strong influences of individual and peer health behaviors. To further explore the core themes and to voice their finding to a broader audience, the youth are currently developing media products, such as posters, a video documentary, and public service announcements in collaboration with a local television station. This project demonstrates that participant generated photographs are a valuable tool in catalyzing adolescents to discuss health issues and design campaigns to improve health at the community level.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the Photovoice process
• Identify other potential applications of Photovoice in adolescent populations
• List several adolescent perceived community influences of health behaviors

Keywords: Adolescents, Photovoice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation