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Introduction
Photovoice is gaining popularity as a participatory research methodology (Catalani and Minkler 2010) and has been used with diverse populations, ranging from homeless people (Killion and Wang 2000; Wang, Cash and Powers 2000), immigrant women (Schwartz et al. 2007) and indigenous groups (Castleden, Garvin and Huu-ay-aht First Nation 2008; Poudrier and Mac-Lean 2009; Wilkin and Liamputtong 2010). Few studies, however, have described the use of photovoice with older adults (Baker and Wang 2006; Blair and Minkler 2009; Lockett, Willis and Edwards 2005). Given the growing interest in the methodology and its potential for research in the field of ageing, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate its strengths, as well as highlight some issues that researchers may need to consider as they use the methodology with older adults. We illustrate advantages and issues by drawing on a study examining age-friendly community characteristics in four communities in Manitoba, Canada.
The term photovoice refers to a photographic technique that is based on the participatory research of Wang and Burris (1997). In essence, the photovoice technique permits participants to record and reflect on their community, including strengths and weaknesses (Wang and Redwood-Jones 2001). The employment of the method normally includes: (a) having a group of participants take photographs to depict their experience with the phenomenon under study, (b) contextualising the photos by eliciting information from participants about what they have represented in the photographs, (c) the use of a group process to allow collective reflection and dialogue related to the issue under study, and (d) sharing the findings with an audience beyond the group (Wang and Redwood-Jones 2001).
Typical of participatory approaches in research (Blair and Minkler 2009; Newman 2010), the photovoice technique is based on the notion that local people are experts on their communities and know the actions needed to improve quality of life (Hergenrather et al. 2009; Wang and Burris 1997; Wang et al. 2004). By collaborating with community members and focusing on local issues, the outcomes from a photovoice project should be appropriate to the community setting as well as relevant to the problems people are facing (Hergenrather et al. 2009; Israel et al. 2001; Minkler et al. 2003). This type of community-based...