Youth Focused Evaluation
Stacy Huff, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Burlington, North Carolina, United States
Stacy Huff, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Burlington, North Carolina, United States
Shruthi Venkatesh, M.S.
Graduate Student
University of North Carolina Greensboro, United States
Tiffany Tovey, PhD
Director of the Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Services
UNC Greensboro, United States
Tiffany Tovey, PhD
Director of the Office of Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Services
UNC Greensboro, United States
Onyinyechukwu Onwuka du Bruyn, M.S. (she/her/hers)
Ph.D. Candidate
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
Location: Room 205
Abstract Information: We know that a picture tells a story; as the adage goes, it is worth 1000 words. Photovoice (PV) is a community-based participatory action research methodology that engages participants in taking daily photos of their life related to a theme and then coming together to reflect on the photos and give context to the images. This process culminates in a traveling exhibit display of the photos for the community to view and engage with the project (Brazg et al., 2011). Our team used a Photovoice method for the fifth year evaluation of a SAMHSA-funded transition-aged youth focused program to engage with youth and young adults. Here, we sought to further understand their lived experiences and perceived priorities relating to their mental health experiences in their communities. In this roundtable session, we will delve into sharing our methods, outcomes, and lessons learned with this evaluation project and examine how the project blurred the lines between evaluation and program planning. We hope to raise questions that will encourage attendees to reflect on (1) their own boundary crossing, (2) the creative tools they have or would like to use to tell compelling stories in their work, and (3) compare these creative storytelling tools to traditional data collection methods.
Relevance Statement: Storytelling contributes to and shapes both the engagement with and the narrative of evaluations. In order to dive deeper into storytelling’s usage, benefits, and impacts on our practices, this roundtable proposal invites discussion which examines the methods, outcomes, and lessons learned from conducting a Photovoice (PV) data collection project with transition-age youth experiencing serious mental health issues. Photovoice (PV) is a qualitative data collection method that allows participants to tell their own stories. Participants capture daily photographs of their life that are related to a specific theme and present these images in a focus group to provide insight and context (Brazg et al., 2011). Ultimately, the images and quotes are displayed to the community in a traveling exhibit, bringing the participants' stories to life. This community-based research method has been used with similar populations with great success, showing better engagement with traditionally low-engagement populations (Gant et al., 2009). Photovoice is considered a social justice method, allowing participants to speak for themselves and have more voice in the data, fitting with the program's “youth voice and choice” philosophy. Our evaluation team conducted a Photovoice data collection in early 2023 as part of a collaborative fifth year evaluation of a SAMHSA-funded program serving transition-age youth with serious mental health issues. We used this method to assess the program’s success in expanding community awareness of the mental health needs of this population. By using photographs to share stories of their lived experiences, this method allowed program leadership to understand transition-age youths’ priorities and experiences related to mental health in the community. The Photovoice project served to fulfill both the evaluation need of telling the story of the impact of Healthy Transitions on the community and the program objective of broadening community awareness of transition-age youths’ needs. In our roundtable discussion, we will engage in reflective discussion related to the methods for working with difficult-to-engage populations, such as transition-age youth. We will share the methods, outcomes, and lessons learned from implementing a Photovoice data collection project in this collaborative evaluation context. We specifically aim to share how this visual storytelling method served to empower participants in telling their own stories. Additionally, we will discuss our experience with crossing boundaries between evaluation and project management and explore with the audience their own experiences with boundary crossing. We will discuss creative storytelling tools that the audience has used or would like to use in their work and compare these with more traditional data collection methods.