Photovoice-Based Assessment of Weight Management Experiences of Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Tamoxifen

Use of photo methods in research studies with cancer survivors and their caregivers: a scoping review

PURPOSE

Photo methods such as photo-elicitation and photovoice have traditionally been implemented as knowledge-generation techniques; however, they have also been conceptualized as tools for community impact and as interventions in and of themselves. We performed a scoping review to document how photo methods have been used in studies of cancer, to describe participant populations, and to identify opportunities for future directions for the use of photo methods in cancer.

METHODS

An a priori search strategy was implemented across health-related databases with the following inclusion criteria: (1) study participants were diagnosed with cancer and/or were caregivers of those with cancer; (2) study participants were asked to take and/or respond to photographs as part of the study protocol; (3) articles were published in peer-reviewed journals; (4) articles were written in English.

RESULTS

Eighty non-duplicative articles were identified; of these, 30 articles describing 24 individual studies were included for review. All but one (95.8%) of the studies utilized photovoice solely as a knowledge-generation technique without participant outcome measurement or analysis. Across all included studies, participants were largely women with breast cancer; other demographic and cancer-related variables (e.g., race and cancer stage) were not consistently reported. Caregivers were included in 37.5% of studies.

CONCLUSION

Photo methods are most frequently used in order to capture qualitative data in cancer populations; however, there are missed opportunities in their lack of use for intervention and systemic change. In addition, inconsistent reporting of demographics and cancer characteristics limits our ability to synthesize these data across studies.

Engagement of Nepalese High-School Students in Cancer Awareness Using a Photovoice Based on the Health Belief Model

Delivering cancer education is one of the strategies for implementing health promotion and disease prevention programs. Moreover, cancer education can help people understand the risks related to specific behaviors that can trigger cancer during later life stages. This study examines the cancer perception of high school students (median age: 14 years) using a photovoice based on the health belief model. Students were requested to take photographs to answer the framework question: “How is cancer present in your surrounding?” A theoretical thematic analysis was conducted to develop codes, and the narratives completed by the participants on the SHOWED checklist were used to create contextualization. With the use of the health belief model, the following factors were determined: risk factors and environmental pollution (perceived susceptibility), symptoms (perceived severity), prevention and screening (benefits), ignorance and poverty, and ineffective laws and regulations (perceived barriers). Linked to these themes, students’ narration demonstrated the risk of developing cancer if the same environment and inadequate regulations persisted. This study highlights the need to incorporate the participation of adolescents in the design, implementation, and monitoring of several community issues to help address several unanswered questions.

The visual vernacular: embracing photographs in research

The increasing use of digital images for communication and interaction in everyday life can give a new lease of life to photographs in research. In contexts where smartphones are ubiquitous and many people are "digital natives", asking participants to share and engage with photographs aligns with their everyday activities and norms more than textual or analogue approaches to data collection. Thus, it is time to consider fully the opportunities afforded by digital images and photographs for research purposes. This paper joins a long-standing conversation in the social science literature to move beyond the "linguistic imperialism" of text and embrace visual methodologies. Our aim is to explain the photograph as qualitative data and introduce different ways of using still images/photographs for qualitative research purposes in health professions education (HPE) research: photo-documentation, photo-elicitation and photovoice, as well as use of existing images. We discuss the strengths of photographs in research, particularly in participatory research inquiry. We consider ethical and philosophical challenges associated with photography research, specifically issues of power, informed consent, confidentiality, dignity, ambiguity and censorship. We outline approaches to analysing photographs. We propose some applications and opportunities for photographs in HPE, before concluding that using photographs opens up new vistas of research possibilities.