Rebecca Morris

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Country: England
Background: BSc Psychology
Research Project: A formative evaluation of the TB Photovoice Project, Thailand

Tuberculosis (TB) kills over 1.6 million people per year and predominantly affects lower income countries and within those countries the poorest are disproportionately affected. The TB Photovoice (TBPV), Thailand project, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, uses photography as a medium to produce social action through dialogue by people affected by TB. It aims to increase a facilitate dialogue about TB and HIV/AIDS in local communities in order to strengthen and better understand community-defined TB and HIV/AIDS issues. The researcher conducted a formative evaluation of the project at the end of the first year of implementation using individual interviews with key stakeholders and a focus group with the project participants. The evaluation found that the greatest impact was on the participants by empowering individuals through building skills in photography and writing as well as well as enabling a support network between the participants. There has been an unexpected impact in the form of income generation for the participants. The partner organisations of the project have also been impacted by it through being involved in events with TBPV that have established the partnerships and brought together organisations working in the same field. There were a number of adaptations made from the original Photovoice model in the implementation of TBPV. The project had taken longer to implement than planned and so had limited impact in the wider community. The project was considered a novel effective way of engaging individuals affected by TB. The project now must increase awareness of TB in the local community and identify the issues on which to advocate.