How we see it! Using Photovoice to "hear" the voices of African American teen mothers

Mothering practices of African American women have been affected by social, political, race and gender issues that have altered the ways in which cultural practices are transferred generationally. Traditional biomedical research has focused on the African American adolescent mother as pathologic in her ability to parent effectively failing to consider the effects of the alteration in generational transfer of traditional mothering practices. The continued disparity in infant mortality between African American infants and all other races illustrates the need to explore health disparities using a multiple determinants of health model that considers the effect of socially constructed concepts of gender, class, and race on the health of individuals and communities. Using Photovoice, a participatory research methodology, African American adolescent mothers documented their own experiences through photography, journaling, and group discussion. The approach and process itself provided participants with a forum to identify and share their own cultural strengths and positive mothering practices with each other and the community through public presentation of their work. Participatory analysis resulted in the mothers themselves identifying themes of building a network, seeing the future and sharing responsibilities as an avenue for the intra-generational transfer of positive mothering practices. Insight gained from this study will result in new and innovative approaches that will guide researchers in community based participatory inquiry as well as assist community health professionals and African American communities in identifying and developing culturally relevant strategies to support adolescent mothers and their infants in an effort to reduce the disparity in infant mortality.