Voices of African American Health: stories of health and healing

Abstract

Few creative methodologies have been used in minority and underserved communities to elucidate the health challenges they face. Photovoice is a qualitative method that enables individuals to share their experiences with a given topic, such as chronic illness, through photography and inspires positive community action. Voices of African American Health was a photovoice project in which 24 African Americans living in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina took photographs and journaled about their experiences with chronic disease over a four-week period. Stories and photos that emerged from this program fell into four broad themes: limited health care access and perceived poor quality of care; religion and spirituality; expression and release of emotion; and coping mechanisms. This project used artistic means to enable community members to portray their experiences with chronic disease as a means to increase awareness of minority health. A traveling art exhibit showcases participants' photographs and journal vignettes, allowing them to share their stories with viewers from a diverse audience.

Keywords:

• African American
• photovoice
• community health
• storytelling
• photography

Acknowledgements

Voices of African American Health was funded by the Society for Arts in Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson, and all study activities were made possible by a partnership between the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity and Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts, Inc. (Dianne Caesar, curator). We wish to thank Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, psychoanalyst, post-trauma specialist, and author, for conducting a narrative memoir and storytelling methods workshop for participants, and for providing psychological insights about distressed populations during formational stages of the project. We would also like to thank Mr. Michael Cunningham, acclaimed photographer and author, for conducting the photography workshop and for providing technical assistance, support, and inspiration to our study team. We are grateful for the time and effort of Vickie Bovender of the Winston-Salem Writers' Group, who graciously extended her time and energy to assisting the VAAH participants during their writing process. Finally, we extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Ronny Bell, Director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, who guided the team in the final stages of the study and assisted with reviewing this manuscript.