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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Integrating photovoice into urban middle school obesity prevention intervention

Eddy Jara, MPH, RD1, Abby Rosenheck2, and Emily J. Ozer, PhD1. (1) University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA 94720, (510) 642-6531, ejara@berkeley.edu, (2) Urban Sprouts, 234 Duncan St. #3, San Francisco, CA 94131

Photovoice is a participatory action research technique in which participants take photographs of their surroundings and use them to stimulate dialogue, encourage action, and inform policy. Photovoice methodology can also be used as part of a youth obesity prevention project to facilitate meaningful youth participation, provide insight into the perceptions and behavior change process of youth taking the pictures, and link school-based health promotion with parents/families. Youth from urban communities of color are at higher risk for overweight. Students at two public middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area with predominantly African American and Latino students used photovoice methodology to: 1) Take pictures of foods students eat in order to reflect on their eating habits; 2) Take pictures of cultural/family foods; 3) Interview family members regarding the meaning behind home-made family foods; and 4) Develop a short magazine of photo essays illustrating the meaning of home-made family foods. During the project, students participated in cooking, gardening, nutrition skill-building activities; wrote about their pictures; and discussed the meaning of the photos with their classmates. To present the magazine, students invited their family members to an on-campus celebration included harvesting food from the garden, cooking, and enjoying a meal in which students read their photo essays aloud.

Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives