Meeting #6 (April 2021) – Salerno Valdez et al. (2019)
In our sixth and final meeting on Tuesday 20 April, we discussed Salerno Valdez et al. How the U.S.-Mexico border influences adolescent substance use: Youth participatory action research using photovoice. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 73, 146–155. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.07.011
In this study, researchers developed a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) approach with a state-funded youth coalition group on the US/Mexico border to explore factors influencing adolescent substance use. Twenty three young people were trained as researchers, and carried out a “photovoice” study, using photographs they had taken to document what they perceived as environmental influences on their behaviour and that of their peers. Photos were used to generate discussion and develop recommendations to improve the environment in which the young people lived. This paper is a superb example of co-production of research, Participatory Action Research (PAR), as of the photovoice approach…… [Read on]
Dr Matt Smith