How to use visual methods to promote health among adolescents: A qualitative study of school nursing

Abstract

Aims and objectives Public health nurses attended a 3‐day course to learn the use of visual methods in health dialogue with adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore how to use visual methods to promote health among adolescents in a school nursing context. Background Photovoice is a visualising technique that enables adolescents to participate in health promotion projects in a school setting. Photovoice also enhances work of public health nurses and other health professionals. Design This was a qualitative action research study. We developed and conducted a course in visual methods and used data from focus group discussions in combination with participant observations involving public health nurses working in school health services. Methods We conducted focus group interviews (n = 40) using separate semi‐structured discussion guides before and after a course in visual methods. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and we documented the workshops (n = 8) through field notes. We collected the data from January–October 2016. Data were analysed and coded into themes and subthemes using systematic text condensation. We reported the study in accordance with the COREQ checklist. Findings Public health nurses found photovoice useful in school nursing. The use of images offered pupils an active role in dialogues and more control in defining the topics and presenting their stories. When nurses allowed adolescents to bring images into conversations, they discovered new insights into public health promotion. The public health nurses pointed out the benefits and challenges of using new methods in practice. Conclusion Public health nurses considered photovoice to be useful in health promotion and other public health issues. Involving pupils in bringing images to conversations offered them an active role and voice in health promotion. Relevance to clinical practice We recommend the use of photovoice and visual technologies (e.g., smartphones) in health promotion activities for adolescents.

The use of photovoice in nursing education: A scoping review

“…To some degree, most studies aimed to use photovoice to teach participants about factors impacting health at the individual, community, and environmental levels, with topics such as health care costs (Gwon & Thongpriwan, 2019), HIV (Leyva‐Moral et al, 2021), global health and cultural diversity (Michael et al, 2012), intimate partner violence (Solano‐Ruiz et al, 2021), mental illness (Tippin & Maranzan, 2022), and rural nursing (Yonge et al, 2013). Conversely, one study used photovoice to describe the experience of nurses learning a new clinical training system in the hospital (Horii et al, 2021) and another examined how a photovoice intervention impacted the relationship between school nurses and adolescents (Laholt et al, 2019).…”

“…Despite limited studies describing data dissemination, many articles included either a group discussion or a critical dialogue component, which is integral to the photovoice process (Wang & Burris, 1997). Even so, six studies included neither a discussion nor a dissemination component (Laholt et al, 2019; Leipert & Anderson, 2012; Michael et al, 2012; Oosterbroek, 2019; Stupans et al, 2019; Yonge et al, 2018).…”

“…Photovoice interventions were used in a mixture of elective and mandatory courses focused on topics such as community nursing, rural nursing, nutrition, population health, global health, geriatrics, and surgical care, with the majority being didactic in nature ( n = 15). Five studies used photovoice in clinical courses; one took place at a hospital (Horii et al, 2021) and another at a children's health clinic (Laholt et al, 2019). The length of photovoice training sessions was underreported, but those mentioned varied from 1 to 2 hours.…”

Improving Primary Health Care Workers’ Knowledge to Strengthen Leptospirosis Surveillance in Demak District, Indonesia

“…Participants received material explanations from the trainer presentations with additional visual images. The use of image visualization for health education in adult groups could trigger participants to play an active role in discussions and submit topics to ask further questions to the trainers [23]. One of the methods in training was an interactive discussion using case studies.…”

The effects of visual formats on Facebook health-related posts: evidence from eye movement analysis

“…For example, in their review paper on the role of pictures in improving health communication, Houts et al (2006) concluded that visual information can remarkably increase attention to, comprehension of and recall of health information, particularly when the visuals are closely related to the text information. In another study, Laholt et al (2019) conducted a qualitative study aiming to promote health among adolescents through the use of visual methods, and they found that the use of images promotes health communication among adolescents.…”