142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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309423
Latino Youth Speak Health: Using Photovoice to Improve Patient-Provider Relationships and Reduce Health Disparities

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 9:10 AM - 9:30 AM

Alexandra Lightfoot, EdD , Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Florence M. Simán, MPH , El Pueblo, Inc., Raleigh, NC
Eugenia Eng, MPH, DrPH , Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Mimi Chapman, Ph.D. , School of Social Work, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Robert Colby, Ph.D. , Institute for the Arts and Humanities, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Tamera Coyne-Beasley, MD , Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Steve Day, MCP , School of Social Work, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
William Hall, MSW , School of Social Work, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Kent Lee, MA , Department of Social Psychology, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
John McGowan, Ph.D. , English, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Keith Payne, Ph.D. , Department of Social Psychology, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Alexandra Shayne-McKnight, BA , School of Social Work, The Universtiy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kari Thatcher, MPH Candidate , Gillings School of Global Public Health, Health Behavior, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: North Carolina (NC) has experienced 943% growth in the Hispanic/Latino population over the last 20 years. Compared to Whites in NC, Latinos face significant health care barriers, such as lack of insurance, access to care, and difficulty communicating with medical providers. Such barriers have potential lifelong implications for the health and well-being of Latino adolescents. Improving patient-provider relationships may be one intervention point for reducing Latino health disparities. Our trans-disciplinary community-academic team developed and tested an intervention, Envisioning Health, which used visual images (a photojournalism series documenting the migration journey of Latinos and adolescent-generated images through photovoice) to engage pediatric residents in an exploration of Latino ethnicity and the experience of migration on health.

Methods: We used the community-based participatory research (CBPR) method of Photovoice with groups of Latino adolescents from different communities. The adolescents took photos and engaged in the facilitated SHOWED/VENCER dialogue process (in English and Spanish) focusing on “What my doctor needs to know about my life.” They organized a forum with pediatric residents to discuss Photovoice findings and prioritize next steps for enhancing equity in health care interactions. 

Results:  Findings enhanced residents’ understanding of Latino adolescent perspectives on the experience of receiving care and helped them gain insight on the impact of migration experiences on health and generate ideas and strategies to enhance the care and treatment of Latino adolescents.

Conclusion:  Innovative methods are needed to enhance patient-provider relationships if we are to improve quality of care and reduce Latino health disparities.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe how photovoice was used to enhance pediatric residents’ understanding of Latino adolescents and health care barriers they face. Assess the benefits of using a CBPR approach and visual methods to help health care providers see and generate strategies to address Latino health disparities.

Keyword(s): Adolescents, Health Disparities/Inequities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am Co-Investigator on the Envisioning Health research study overseeing the Photovoice component in collaboration with co-authors Florence Siman and Eugenia Eng. I am experienced in CBPR through my role as Director of the Community-Based Participatory Research Core at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I also teach a seminar on CBPR and Photovoice in the Health Behavior department at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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