Photovoice and health inequalities among young people in the MENA region: Scoping review

Abstract

Background: Young people in the MENA region face significant challenges due to socio-political instability, ongoing conflicts, and inequitable social and economic policies. These factors, combined with global threats like climate change and economic instability, hinder the potential of the region's 140 million young people aged 10-24. Addressing these compounded crises is crucial for the future of the region. It is essential to understand the contextual factors shaping young people's health outcomes through their own perspectives. Photovoice, a participatory research method, has shown promise in engaging young people in research.

Objective: This scoping review aims to map the literature on photovoice studies that addressed health and its determinants among young people in the MENA region. It also seeks to highlight the challenges and strengths of employing the photovoice methodology in this context.

Inclusion criteria: The review included literature reporting photovoice projects that addressed young people's health and/or its social determinants, where participants took photos and engaged in discussions based on these images. Studies involving young people aged 10-24 years and focusing on photovoice in the MENA region were considered. Both peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature with sufficient information addressing the review questions were included.

Methodology: The review followed the JBI Scoping Review Methodology and involved searches of seven English databases, two Arabic databases, and grey literature through Google search.

Results: Eleven studies/projects were included in the analysis. Most of the literature came from non-profit organizations, with few studies from peer-reviewed articles. The included studies focused on socio-economically disadvantaged, vulnerable, and marginalized young people, addressing topics such as environment, social integration, safety, and youth empowerment. The implementation of photovoice varied across studies, and there was limited participation of young people throughout the research process.

Conclusion: The scoping review revealed a scarcity of literature on the use of photovoice among young people to address health inequalities and the factors influencing them in the MENA region. Given the public health value of photovoice as an action-oriented research approach that promotes meaningful participation from young people, further research is needed to leverage this methodology to tackle health inequalities effectively.

Keywords: Participatory research; Photovoice; Social determinants of health; Young people.

Fig. 1

PRISMA Chart for Study Selection