Philadelphia Youth Photovoice: Opportunities for Nonprofit Hospitals to Integrate Photovoice as Part of the Iterative Process for Community Health Needs Assessments and Implementation Strategies

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The Internal Revenue Service requires 501(c)3 hospitals to submit a triennial community health needs assessment and community health implementation strategy to receive tax exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Photovoice research methodology has roots that intimately align with the objectives of this requirement, but little research has identified how photovoice can be effectively incorporated into each component of this iterative process.

PURPOSE: To use photovoice research for a community health needs assessment of Latino youth in Philadelphia and to evaluate the utility of this research in meeting the requirements of the community health needs assessments required by the Internal Revenue Service.

METHODS: Researches utilized methodology adapted from Wang and Burris original description of photovoice. Participants were recruited from three community partner sites to join individual interviews and four group sessions. Researchers conducted directed content analysis and developed a conceptual model based on the World Health Organization’s Framework on the Social Determinants of Health.

RESULTS: Participants (n=34) identified and defined ten unique themes that spanned structural determinants of health, intermediary determinants of health, health and wellness, and proposed solutions. Participants addressed all four of these components in eight of these themes.

CONCLUSIONS: Photovoice can play an effective role in needs assessments, implementation strategies, and community benefit initiatives as required by the Internal Revenue Service. Nonprofit hospitals may improve their community benefit impact by incorporating photovoice research in their practice, and future research should focus on expanding photovoice’s role in evaluation.