Climate Change and Food Security Among At-Risk Populations in Regional Inuit Centres
ICHR Facilitators:
- Denise Kurszewski, Hilary Blackett (University of Toronto)
Partners and Supporters:
- James Ford (McGill, ArcticNet), Aurora Research Institute, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Yellowknife Photo Club, University of Toronto, PHAC, CIHR
Funder:
- Climate Change and Health Adaptation in Northern First Nation Communities Program – First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada
“Photovoice gives us the confidence to speak up about our ideas. The program teaches us about critical thinking, analysis and reflection.”
– Student Participant
Seven Inuvik students participated in the Introduction to Research course in Inuvik in July 2010. The course was facilitated by ICHR’s Denise Kurszewski and University of Toronto graduate student Hilary Blackett and offered a hands-on experience where students were able to learn and practice various research skills including literature searches and critical appraisal of articles, project development and assessment, questionnaire design and interviewing, and the creation of a research poster.
The main research component of the course explored the participatory research methodology of “Photovoice” to study health issues in Inuvik. Photovoice allows participants to act as co-researchers, developing research questions while conceptualizing their community and perpectives using photographs and expressing their opinions through collective discussion and photograph appraisal.
As a group the students developed two research questions to investigate:
- What contributes to good health in Inuvik?
- What are the challenges to achieving good health?
Throughout the week, students were able to go out into their community and take pictures depicting circumstances that promote and challenge health in Inuvik.
“I was completely taken aback by the youth participants’ discussions. This form of qualitative research is extremely valuable for understanding the many complex issues affecting northern communities.” – Graduate Instructor
Following their photography fieldwork, each student chose their top three photos representing community issues affecting health in Inuvik and discussed the meaning of each photo to the individual participants. Common themes were highlighted throughout this process including nutrition, poverty and homelessness, as well as mental, spiritual, physical and emotional health.
The success of this project and the advantages of using participatory research when conducting research in Northern communities was presented at the Healing Our Spirit Worldwide Conference held in Hawaii in September 2010.
Pan-Northern Photovoice Project
The Youth Photovoice project was a pilot study for a larger pan-Northern Photovoice Project that is being conducted in Inuvik, Iqaluit, Arviat, and Kuujjuaq to characterize the nature of the food system for at-risk people (e.g., role of traditional foods, sharing networks, food banks, etc), examine determinants of food insecurity, document and describe adaptive strategies, and characterize the role of climatic stresses in affecting food security. With training in Photovoice methods completed, data collection commenced in October 2010.
