What Experience, Situation, or Subculture Did the Researchers Seek to Understand?
The researchers of “A Latino Young Photovoice Project on Teen Pregnancy” sought to understand the community of Pacific Northwest, namely – the tendencies leading to early pregnancies among Latina girls of teen age. The research explored the relationships and cultural habits of the Pacific Northwest community that encouraged or prevented the rate of teenage pregnancies. The aspects the researchers focused during the process of data collection were risks, pressure, education, community resources and Latino values.
Did the Researchers Want to Produce a Description of an Experience, a Social Process, or an Event, or Is the Goal to Generate a Theory?
The goal of the photovoice research was to produce a description of the events happening in a specific community and provide the members of the Pacific Northwest society with a chance to communicate their impressions and experiences. The research was designed to initiate changes and dialogue within the community in order to stimulate future policies directed at changing the current situation. Photovoice research was intended at a method of storytelling directed at communication between the members of the community about the issues of teen pregnancy.
How Was Data Collected?
The data was collected through the hired participants, who were selected from the representatives of the Latino teenage community. The young people were given two disposable cameras each and were asked to take pictures of everything that, according to their idea, increased or prevented the rate of teenage pregnancies in their community. The participants also were handed out journals for notes and comments. The participants of the research had one month for photographing various scenes and objects and then they were requested to mail the cameras to the researchers.
How Did the Researchers Control Their Biases and Preconceptions?
In order to control their biases and preconceptions the researcher familiarized themselves with the data collected during the research. After that the data was analyzed with the help of thematic analysis. Similar concepts captured by the participants were categorized according to the themes they carried. This stage of research had several phases, the researchers were very careful and through defining, coding and naming the themes this was done to avoid preconceptions and make the research objective.
Are Specific Pieces of Data (e.g., Direct Quotes) and More Generalized Statements (Themes, Theories) Included in the Research Report?
The research includes direct quote that identifies the meaning of photovoice report, its function and the effect it has on communities. Besides, the six-step process of data analysis was based on another research, so the experts of current study used the same titles for the steps of the analysis process. Further the research report also uses quotes from the journals of the participants in order to support and explain the concepts they captured on the photographs.
What Were the Main Findings of the Study?
The research demonstrated that some of the main factors contributing to the high rates of teen pregnancies in Latino community are connected to the lack of education, family and communication issues and absence of empowerment. In order to reduce the social problem all of these aspects have to be addressed.
Conclusion
I fully agree with the results of the findings and the established factors increasing the risk of early pregnancies among Latina teens. The same factors are known to contribute to early pregnancies in other cultural and ethnic groups. This is why it is very unlikely that if some other community became the object of this study the findings would differ. Adolescents that lack health literacy and education, or that experience family issues and lack of communication with their parents and other adults with authority such as teachers and medical workers are undergoing the same risks.
Reference List
Noone, J., Allen, T. L., Sullivan, M., McKenzie, G., Esqueda, T., & Ibarra, N. (2014).
Escuchando a Nuestros Jovenes: A Latino Youth Photovoice Project on Teen Pregnancy. Hispanic Health Care International, 12(2), 63-70.