Engaging Youth in Photovoice to Promote Local Tobacco Policy Change

The 84 Movement, a project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and managed by Health Resources in Action (HRiA), is a statewide, youth-led movement that aims to make communities healthier, more just and more tobacco free. Through additional funding from Health and Human Services to the Boston Public Health Commission, over 100 Boston youth from The 84 Movement were trained, engaged and supported by HRiA staff to use Photovoice to assess the presence of tobacco and the tobacco industry in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Photovoice is a research strategy that empowers youth and marginalized communities to use photography as a tool for social change. Using digital cameras and recorders, Boston youth creatively documented and reflected on their community's strengths and concerns around the issue of tobacco. Project themes included but were not limited to: tobacco marketing and advertising, tobacco litter, the presence (or absence) of tobacco in the school environment and public spaces, and the availability of other tobacco products. Through this effort, youth aimed to promote dialogue and knowledge about the impact of the tobacco industry upon community residents and their neighborhood environment. Furthermore, youth presented the results of their projects to local governing bodies, and collaborated with them to identify viable policy change opportunities to promote healthier and more tobacco-free communities.

This session proposes methods to effectively and creatively engage youth in assessing their community using photography and videography and identifying and supporting local tobacco prevention policy change efforts.