MAPPR Partners with Local High School and College Students

MAPPR Team members partnered with local high school and college students for a project entitled “Por Nuestros Ojos” (“Through Our Eyes”).  The project was based on PhotoVoice, which uses participatory photography to help underserved and marginalized communities share their experiences and document their reality. 

For this particular project, students from UNC-Charlotte were assembled with Hispanic high school students and challenged with capturing images on film that, in their view, represented issues and circumstances that either positively or negatively impacted their health and the health of their community.  The high school students were chosen from a youth-led advocacy group called “United 4 The Dream” (U4TD), which operates in collaboration with Latin American Coalition.   The Por Nuestros Ojos project was part of a larger study being conducted by MAPPR entitled “A Transdisciplinary Approach for the Evaluation of Social Determinants of Health”, which looks at cultural, environmental and other factors that contribute to the health of communities.

The research team took data collected from previous research to determine which communities seemed to be at highest risk for health-related disparities.  The youth underwent trainings before being sent into these communities with cameras.  The resulting images were then reviewed by the students, and the most representative photos were selected.  The students were asked to prepare a brief description of the image and how they felt it impacted health.  The final images and descriptions were exhibited at a PhotoVoice event at the Latin American Coalition. 

Issues cited as positively (+) or negatively (-) affecting health included:

·      Connectivity, or the lack thereof (sidewalks and dangerous crossings) (+/-)
·      Trash and lack of property maintenance (-)
·      Visible water and air pollution (-)
·      Local Women, Infant and Children offices/grocery stores/fire stations/schools (+)
·      Fast food restaurants/scam doctors (-)
·      Track/athletic courts/playgrounds (+/- depending on use and upkeep)

“Por Nuestros Ojos served to validate and supplement what some of our research had already determined,” says Claire Schuch, PhD Student at UNC-Charlotte and part of the MAPPR Research Team.  “It was also used to deepen and develop a more nuanced understanding of the communities, neighborhoods, and individuals at the heart of our research and intervention efforts.”

The project also served to give a voice to a group of traditionally unrepresented members of the Hispanic community: the youth.  Many of the participants expressed gratitude at the opportunity to participate in this project and to have their opinions be presented in such a public forum.

To read the full paper on Por Nuestros Ojos, please click HERE.