Photovoice as a tool to document social determinants of cardiovascular health in the Filipino community of New York City and Jersey City

Background: Project AsPIRE, a community-based participatory research project funded by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, aims to improve health access and status for cardiovascular disease in the Filipino American community living in the New York and New Jersey area. The project sought the use of innovative and community-based methods to enhance understanding of the community needs and resources. Methods: To capture the breadth and depth of the Filipino's community's perspectives on heart health, photovoice was used as one component of Project AsPIRE's needs assessment. Photovoice enables participants to identify, represent, and enhance their community through a specific photographic technique. The goals of photovoice include enabling people to record their lived experiences, promoting critical dialogue and discussion around their photos, and reaching decision-makers to influence social change. Using the photovoice methodology, we engaged community members and student volunteers to use cameras to capture the lived experience of Filipino residents in Queens, New York and Jersey City, New Jersey. Through facilitated consciousness-raising discussions, we elaborated on particular themes that emerged through their pictorial documentation. Results: Using photos and emergent themes, we will illustrate how Filipino food, nutrition and environmental factors have impacted residents' cardiovascular health. We will describe how the findings from the photovoice project were disseminated to community members and how we engaged policy makers to respond to community concerns. As a supplement to an overall needs assessment, photovoice revealed challenges and opportunities for Project AsPIRE's outreach strategies.