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 carry ing out participatory needs assessment, conducting participatory evalu ation and reaching policy-makers has been discussed elsewhere. Here th e authors examine the claims made for the effectiveness of photovoice as a participatory method. To do so, they describe one large-scale cas e study and then consider where it succeeded or failed in fulfilling i ts participatory aims. Differences among participants in political pow er, class, education and control over one's life illustrate certain ad vantages and potential costs of participation, and suggest considerati ons for minimizing the risk of unintended consequences.