‘We've fallen into the cracks’: Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer through photovoice

Abstract

Despite some recognition that Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer may have unique health needs, little research has documented the experiences of Aboriginal women from their perspective. Our main objective was to explore and to begin to make visible Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer using the qualitative research technique, photovoice. The research was based in Saskatchewan, Canada and participants were Aboriginal women who had completed breast cancer treatment. Although Aboriginal women cannot be viewed as a homogeneous group, participants indicated two areas of priority for health-care: (i) Aboriginal identity and traditional beliefs, although expressed in diverse ways, are an important dimension of breast cancer experiences and have relevance for health-care; and (ii) there is a need for multidimensional support which addresses larger issues of racism, power and socioeconomic inequality. We draw upon a critical and feminist conception of visuality to interrogate and disrupt the dominant visual terrain (both real and metaphorical) where Aboriginal women are either invisible or visible in disempowering ways. Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer must be made visible within health-care in a way that recognizes their experiences situated within the structural context of marginalization through colonial oppression.

“I Just Don't Think There's any other Image that Tells the Story like [This] Picture Does”: Researcher and Participant Reflections on the Use of Participant-Employed Photography in Social Research

“…In particular, reflecting on lived experiences can facilitate the meaning making process, which can be valuable for coping with illness or other traumatic events. The participatory nature of photovoice and similar approaches can also facilitate the construction of experience according to participants' viewpoints, thus photovoice has the potential to challenge or go beyond dominant social constructions, as suggested by Poudrier and Thomas-MacLean (2009). Additionally, an aim of photovoice research is to empower individuals and prompt the development of critical consciousness that fortifies the ability to initiate change (Carlson et al, 2006).…”

“…Next, the meaning of the photographs is explained by participants in interviews or focus groups. Photovoice has primarily been utilized as a means for health promotion within communities (e.g., Carlson, Engebretson, & Chamberlain, 2006;Castleden, Garvin, & Huu-ay-aht First Nation, 2008;Wang, Burris, & Ping, 1996), but it has also been incorporated into research on individuals' lived experiences of certain phenomena (e.g., Drew, Duncan, & Sawyer, 2010;López, Eng, Randall-David, & Robinson, 2005;Poudrier & Thomas-MacLean, 2009;Thompson et al, 2008). While photovoice has been used with a variety of populations, such an approach is frequently incorporated into health research, which is likely a reflection of the need for alternative ways of communicating about health and illness that go beyond dominant linguistic resources to capture the more personal and complex aspects of individuals' experiences.…”

Means of Knowledge Dissemination: Are the <i>Café Scientifique</i> and the Artistic Performance Equally Effective?

“…Initially used in research for representation and dissemination of findings, arts-based methods are now employed in all stages of inquiry (Fraser & Sayah, 2011): as a stimulus for data generation, a method for eliciting meanings and values, an intervention tool or a form of dissemination (Bergum & Godkin, 2008). A wide range of artistic forms are utilized by Canadian arts-based researchers: dance (Boydell et al, 2011); poetry (Groft & Robinson-Vollman, 2007;Lapum, 2005); theatrical performances (Cox et al, 2009a;Colantino et al, 2008;McIntyre & Cole, 2008;Clarke & Nisker, 2007;Doucet et al, 2007;Kontos & Naglie, 2007;Eakin & Endicott, 2006;Mitchell et al, 2006;Nisker et al, 2006;Sinding et al, 2006;Gray et al, 2000;; visuals (Poudrier & MacLean, 2009, Castleden & Garvin, 2008Oliffe & Botorff, 2007;Moffitt & Robinson-Vollman, 2004); and a combination of various forms of art (Cox et al, 2009b;.…”

Using Photovoice to Understand Intergenerational Influences on Health and Well-Being in a Southern Labrador Inuit Community

“…We utilized photovoice, a qualitative, arts-based methodology in which participants are provided with cameras and asked to take photographs to represent how their lived experience relates to the research questions (Poudrier & Thomas-MacLean, 2009;Wang, Morrel-Samuels, Hutchison, Bell, & Pestronk, 2004). The goals of photovoice are to (a) enable participants to record strengths and concerns in their community, (b) facilitate dialogue about community issues, and (c) make research visible to policymakers (Wang & Burris, 1994).…”