Using Photovoice to Understand Barriers to and Facilitators of Cardiovascular Health Among African American Adults and Adolescents, North Carolina, 2011–2012

Details

• Journal Article:
  Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
• Personal Author:
  Kowitt, Sarah ; Woods-Jaeger, Briana ; Lomas, Jesse ; Taggart, Tamara ; Thayer, Linden ; Sutton, Sussie ; Lightfoot, Alexandra F.
• Description:
  Introduction
  
  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and mortality rates are higher among African Americans than among people of other races/ethnicities. We aimed to understand how African American adults and adolescents conceptualize cardiovascular health and perceive related barriers and facilitators.
  
  Methods
  
  This qualitative study was conducted as formative research for a larger study, Heart Healthy Lenoir, which aimed to reduce cardiovascular disease disparities among African Americans in eastern North Carolina, part of the widely-known “stroke belt” that runs through the southeastern United States. Using photovoice, a community-based participatory research method, we conducted eight 90-minute photovoice sessions with 6 adults and 9 adolescents in Lenoir County, North Carolina. Topics for each discussion were selected by participants and reflected themes related to cardiovascular health promotion. All sessions were transcribed and coded using a data-driven, inductive approach.
  
  Results
  
  Participants conceptualized cardiovascular health to have mental, spiritual, and social health dimensions. Given these broad domains, participants acknowledged many ecological barriers to cardiovascular health; however, they also emphasized the importance of personal responsibility. Facilitators for cardiovascular health included using social health (eg, family/community relationships) and spiritual health dimensions (eg, understanding one’s body and purpose) to improve health behaviors.
  
  Conclusion
  
  The perspectives of African American adults and adolescents elicited through this formative research provided a strong foundation for Heart Healthy Lenoir’s ongoing engagement of community members in Lenoir County and development and implementation of its intervention to prevent cardiovascular disease.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adolescent Behavior Adult Black Or African American/psychology Cardiovascular Diseases/ethnology Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & Control Cardiovascular Diseases/psychology Community-Based Participatory Research Community-Institutional Relations Decision Making Environment Design Family Health Female Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health Promotion Health Status Disparities Humans Male Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical Outcome And Process Assessment, Health Care Perception Photography Prejudice Qualitative Research Spirituality Stress, Psychological

  More +
• Source:
  Prev Chronic Dis. 12.
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.150062
• ISSN:
  1545-1151
• Pubmed ID:
  26425868
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4591620
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  NIH 2010/2011 NICHD T32HD/PHS HHS/United States ; P50HL105184/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States ; T32AI007001/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina
• Volume:
  12
• Collection(s):
  Preventing Chronic Disease
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c85b5433aa46d2339f277b5441938babab3fe16b8003200baee15aee37675f19d5667a6d10232cdd66cf06325fa51eb7cd1db62a125bba79f1932c9849165b6b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/34795/cdc_34795_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 561.80 KB ]