Engaging youth through photo voice to examine African American female adolescents' HIV risk

Photovoice is a process where individuals represent the strengths and challenges of their communities through photography. This study used photovoice methodology with 7 African American female youth, in grades eight through twelve, in an urban county in North Carolina to gain understanding of social and community issues that affect adolescents and that may be important to address in HIV/STD prevention interventions. Efforts to reduce HIV risk behavior are critically important in this urban county, where African American youth ages 15 -19 represent nearly 25% of STD cases, compared to 4% of Whites. Through their photos and ensuing photo discussions, youth identified social and community factors such as mistrust of the medical system, media influences, and social norms that negatively impact adolescent sexual behavior. Further analysis of the data revealed that lack of access to sexual health resources and quality health care services combine with social and community norms that constrain communication about sexual health within families and the larger community increased HIV/STD vulnerability in African American adolescents. In particular, lack of communication regarding sexual health contributes to misinformation shared among peers, perpetuates stigma towards individuals living with HIV, and discourages youth from engaging in HIV protective behaviors, such as being tested or seeking correct information. This session will discuss the factors that affect youth risk for HIV/STIs and present lessons learned and recommendations for research, policy and intervention development related to HIV prevention among African American youth.