TCOM CONFERENCE SPOTLIGHT!

ARE YOU READY FOR THE 2023 TCOM CONFERENCE?

We are super excited about this year's?#TCOM?Conference, “Lex Go! Pop Health”, and as we get closer, we want to spotlight some of the exciting presentations we have planned for you. Here is another one you do not want to miss!

Integrating Photovoice into the Community Health Assessment Process to Enhance Collaboration, Engagement, and Equity.

Photovoice is a participatory health research method that engages community partners to photograph areas of strength and concern related to a health issue and then critically analyze in focus-group discussion how and why the health concern persists in their community, toward the goal of co-identifying opportunities for change and health improvement. As a method designed to amplify the voices of those who often are not heard in public discourse, Photovoice is ideally suited to increase representation and engagement of a diverse range of collaborators in community health assessment (#CHA) and community health improvement planning (#CHIP) practice. Additionally, integration of Photovoice into the CHA/CHIP process addresses recent critiques that the Photovoice method’s impact on exhibit audiences and health policy improvements has not been adequately evaluated, despite the centrality of health-related social change as one of three core objectives articulated by Photovoice’s originators. Yet, there is very limited literature on the effects of Photovoice on improving engagement and collaboration in CHA/CHIP processes. The goal of this session is to demonstrate how Photovoice improves community engagement, collaboration, and equity in the CHA/CHIP process, how the CHA/CHIP process can enhance the impact of Photovoice projects, and the relevance of CHA/CHIP processes using Photovoice to TCOM by presenting a case study of the Photovoice method’s integration into the November/December 2022 @Clark County (Kentucky) Health Department (CCHD) CHA forums.

In September 2022, CCHD recruited 23 Clark County community members to participate in the Photovoice project and organized them into four groups meeting weekly at mutually convenient times on Zoom in October 2022. Each group completed four sessions: 1) an orientation session covering the ethics of photography, how the Photovoice photography and focus-group conversation will be used for the CHA/CHIP, and the goals of the Photovoice method, 2) two photo discussion sessions, and 3) an analysis and action planning session. Participants took photos on nominated topics and then came back together on Zoom to share and discuss the photos, what they mean, and how they illustrate the selected topic. Between sessions, facilitators conducted interim analysis of photo discussion notes using the Socioecological Framework and identified three key themes arising from each photo discussion. These analyses were presented to each group at subsequent sessions as a reflective exercise to enhance future conversations and dissemination. One Photovoice participant who also is a professional graphic designer was contracted with to create poster, postcard, and PowerPoint templates illustrating topics, themes, and quote/photo pairings (without identifying information) for dissemination with other findings from CCHD primary data collection efforts during the CHA community forums. Representatives from each of the four Photovoice groups presented the top three community health concerns and top three community health strengths on which their team members reached consensus, and the forum included exhibits with display posters and postcards that audience members could take with them after discussing findings with Photovoice participants.

At each step of the presentation outline below, conference participants will be engaged in discussion and active learning in the following ways:

? After being introduced to the Photovoice method, participants will share their level of familiarity and previous experience with Photovoice and discuss using the “pair-share” technique their initial thoughts on the potential of Photovoice as a TCOM tool.

? After receiving an explanation of CHA/CHIP processes conducted by local health departments, participants will share their level of familiarity and previous experience with CHA/CHIP efforts and discuss using the “pair-share” technique the relevance of CHA/CHIP work to TCOM.

? After hearing a description of the Photovoice project design for the CCHD CHA/CHIP, attendees will participate in a facilitated simulation of the nominal group technique used to generate photo-topics during the Photovoice orientation session as it relates to their own communities.

? After interacting with the Photovoice products (posters, postcards, recommendations, website) from the CCHD effort, participants will brainstorm how they think CHA/CHIP Photovoice products could be disseminated and used in TCOM practitioner work.

? After reviewing evaluation data, participants will be asked to revisit their initial thoughts on the potential of Photovoice as a TCOM tool and the relevance of CHA/CHIP work to TCOM and share how their thinking has evolved after seeing the CCHD examples.

Learning objectives:?

• Describe the relevance of the Photovoice method to CHA/CHIP and TCOM.
• Explain how the Photovoice method was integrated into the Clark County Health Department CHA/CHIP and could be incorporated into broader CHA and TCOM work.
• Discuss how the Photovoice method can improve community engagement and collaboration initiatives in public health practice and TCOM.

About Margaret McGladrey, Ph.D.

Margaret McGladrey is a Research Assistant Professor in the Center for Innovation in Population Health at the University of Kentucky and serve as the faculty co-lead of the Criminal Legal System team and Photovoice site lead for the HEALing Communities Study-Kentucky. She specializes in participatory health research and community engagement processes supporting interdisciplinary team science conducted in partnership with a wide variety of public and private agencies, such as K-12 schools, nonprofit organizations, child welfare agencies, local public health departments, cooperative extension, county and regional jails, probation and parole offices, treatment courts, pretrial services, and recovery community organizations?

If you would like to learn about this year's conference and review the tentative schedule?of our program, visit the?TCOM Conference?page.

We are only 20 Days from the Conference. Register today, and?join us in helping create systems that care!

See you all at?#TCOM2023