Open Access“Youth Photovoice”: Promoting Youth-Driven Community Changes for HIV Prevention in Rural Malawi
Author(s) -
Saria Lofton,
Kathleen F. Norr,
Diana Jere,
Crystal L. Patil,
Chimwemwe Kwanjo Banda
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journal of the association of nurses in aids care/journal of the association of nurses in aids care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.636
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1552-6917
pISSN - 1055-3290
DOI - 10.1097/jnc.0000000000000262
Subject(s) - photovoice , participatory action research , focus group , community based participatory research , action research , positive youth development , citizen journalism , political science , psychology , sociology , economic growth , pedagogy , developmental psychology , anthropology , law , economics
To meet the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS global goal of no new HIV infections by 2030, it is imperative to reduce new infections among youth. Youth Photovoice was a 10-month, participatory, community-action research project developed to engage rural Malawi youth in an HIV prevention project focused on community-level outcomes. In this study, we describe how participants in Youth Photovoice engaged adults and community leaders to implement action plans, as well as the community and individual changes that occurred as a result of these collaborative efforts. Youth Photovoice participants, their parents, and local leaders in the community participated in focus groups and individual interviews. Community-level changes, such as moving initiation ceremonies to churches and changes to local business practices, were observed, along with increased community and parental involvement in youth monitoring for local events and activities. This youth-led project led to changes in the community environment that reduced exposure to situations supporting unsafe sex, uncovered ways that youth can lead collaborations with adults, and informed the implementation of plans for community action.