Photovoice as a Participatory Health Promotion Strategy

Photovoice is a participatory action research strategy by which people create and discuss photographs as a means of catalyzing personal and community change. The use of photovoice as an effective tool for carrying out participatory needs assessment, conducting participatory evaluation and reaching policy-makers has been discussed elsewhere. Here the authors examine the claims made for the effectiveness of photovoice as a participatory method. To do so, they describe one large-scale case study and then consider where it succeeded or failed in fulfilling its participatory aims. Differences among participants in political power, class, education and control over one's life illustrate certain advantages and potential costs of participation, and suggest considerations for minimizing the risk of unintended consequences.