Using Photovoice to Assess and Promote Environmental Approaches to Tobacco Control in AAPI Communities

Abstract

Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities face enormous health disparities, with tobacco use contributing to high rates of cancer and heart disease. There is growing interest nationwide on the influence of environmental factors on tobacco use. AAPI communities have been found to have higher exposures to tobacco company marketing compared to the general population. The authors describe the use of Photovoice (a qualitative needs assessment technique) to empower AAPI youth to identify and understand environmental characteristics associated with tobacco use in four AAPI communities in California and Washington. Of the six major environmental themes identified from the photos, three themes were found across all four communities. Debrief sessions with youth and community leaders underscore the relevance of Photovoice for identifying community needs and motivating community organization for change. Despite some logistical challenges, Photovoice exemplifies the power and potential of this community-based methodology to capture how the environment influences youth on tobacco use.

Using Photovoice as a Community-Based Participatory Research Method to Identify Perceived Risk and Protective Factors for Depression in Rural Adolescents

“…A sub-aim of this study was to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the relationship between participation in Photovoice and youth empowerment. Empowerment has been reported as the result of raised critical consciousness and social action in previous Photovoice studies with adolescents [12,15,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. By participating in research that has been tailored to address the unique needs of adolescents, they may gain empowerment, a sense of importance, and knowledge concerning the importance of policy and social change [12].…”

“…While there is a substantial body of literature that has used Photovoice with youth around the globe [15,23,26,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44], there is a lack of studies that specifically use a social ecological model with the method. In addition, there is a lack of Photovoice studies that address mental health issues with rural youth, in particular those who are diagnosed with depression.…”

Working to Eliminate Cancer Health Disparities from Tobacco: A Review of the National Cancer Institute’s Community Networks Program

“…Understanding tobacco use and related diseases: marketing Asian American and Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander 20 50 , intervention, leveraged partnership Southeast Asian, Chinese, Filipino, and Pacific Islander (Chamorro) youth recruited from community agencies in three cities used Photovoice to demonstrate the influence of environmental factors. Three themes identified included advertisements targeting teens, cigarette ads and sales in the community, and negative appearance of the community environment.…”

“…Leveraged partnerships noted in Tables 2 and 3 30,50,63 and the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program. 51 This list of partnerships is not comprehensive as other types of partnerships with resources other than acknowledged funding may not be reflected.…”

Somali Perspectives on Physical Activity: PhotoVoice to Address Barriers and Resources in San Diego

“…Community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods include actively engaging communities in the research and intervention processes to promote positive change (17, 18). Community-engaged efforts are particularly important when working with forcibly displaced communities (19).…”