Abstract
Objective
To pilot Photovoice methodology with low-income, urban 9- to 13-year-olds to gain
insight about their food environment and to determine whether this methodology was
engaging and acceptable to them.
Methods
Photovoice methodology was used to allow children to represent their food environment.
Twenty male and 9 female, low-income, 9- to 13-year-old children participated. Quantitative
photograph analysis included quantity taken and usable internal/external and social
environment and healthfulness categorizations. Qualitative analysis was conducted
through open coding of interview transcripts.
Results
A total of 345 usable photos were taken by the children (n = 29), depicting both healthy
and unhealthy foods. Four themes were identified (1) food characteristics; (2) social
environment; (3) kitchen, cooking, and dining environments; and (4) food insecurity.
Unhealthy food was most readily available to children. Children reported a lack of
functioning kitchen equipment and multiple physical and environmental challenges to
consuming a healthy diet. Food insecurity was prevalent. Food stamps and food pantries
were used to fill gaps in the home food supply.
Conclusions and Implications
Photovoice can be effective in engaging children in conversation about their food
environment and increases understanding of their experiences with food. Photovoice
can provide insight into the household food environments. This information can be
used to tailor interventions to better reflect the living environment and eating behaviors
in low-income populations.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 02, 2015
Accepted:
May 15,
2015
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors’ conflict of interest disclosures can be found online with this article on www.jneb.org.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
