Lardeau M-P, Healey G, Ford J
McGill University, Department of Geography, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Rural Remote Health. 2011;11(2):1680. Epub 2011 Jun 21.
Food insecurity is a chronic problem affecting Inuit communities. The most comprehensive assessment of Inuit food security to-date, the Inuit Health Survey, reported that 70% of Inuit pre-school children lived in 'food insecure' households. Food banks and soup kitchens are relatively new in the Arctic but the number of users is increasing. Little is known about the experience and determinants of food insecurity among food program users who are often among the most marginalized (socially and economically) in communities. The use of participatory research methods when working in the north of Canada can promote meaningful knowledge exchange with community members and this approach was used in the present 'Photovoice' research. Photovoice uses photography to develop a baseline understanding of an issue, in this case the experience and determinants of food insecurity among users of community food programs in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The target population includes those who face significant social and economic marginalization, an often neglected group in Arctic food systems research.
Eight regular users of food programs were recruited and engaged in a Photovoice research project to document factors determining their daily food consumption. The research method was introduced in workshops and discussion included the ethical concerns related to photography and how to take pictures. Participants were supplied with digital cameras, and asked to answer the following question using photography: 'What aspects of your everyday life affect what you eat and how much you have to eat?'. In the final workshop, photographs were discussed among the group and participants identified key themes in the photographs, offering an understanding of food insecurity from their perspectives. The group then discussed what should be done with the knowledge gained.
Factors improving food security were the customary systems for sharing 'country food', and the presence of social support networks in the community, such as the Food Bank, the Soup Kitchen and the Tukisigiarvik Center. Factors identified as negatively affecting food security were the high cost of food in the Arctic, and substance abuse. The participants decided by consensus whether and how the knowledge from this project would be disseminated. They decided that a museum exhibit of the photographs in the summer of 2010 and promotion of the results among policy-makers in Nunavut were of high priority.
The use of participatory research approaches such as Photovoice offers promise for exploring food security issues among similarly disadvantaged and vulnerable populations elsewhere in the Arctic. This approach was found to be a useful method for gathering and sharing research data because the data was generated and analysed by the participants. The clear and concise messages developed by the participants can be used to inform policy. This research method can assist in making a valuable contribution to health research, both in the Arctic and worldwide, because it promotes an understanding of the experiences of individuals from their own perspective.
粮食不安全是影响因纽特人社区的一个长期问题。迄今为止对因纽特人粮食安全最全面的评估——因纽特人健康调查显示，70%的因纽特学龄前儿童生活在“粮食不安全”家庭。食品银行和施粥所在北极地区相对较新，但使用人数正在增加。对于粮食项目使用者（他们往往是社区中社会和经济上最边缘化的群体）粮食不安全的经历和决定因素知之甚少。在加拿大北部开展工作时采用参与式研究方法能够促进与社区成员进行有意义的知识交流，本“摄影之声”研究就采用了这种方法。“摄影之声”利用摄影对某个问题形成初步认识，在本研究中是对努纳武特地区伊魁特社区粮食项目使用者粮食不安全的经历和决定因素。目标人群包括那些面临严重社会和经济边缘化的人，这是北极粮食系统研究中一个经常被忽视的群体。
招募了八名粮食项目的长期使用者，让他们参与一个“摄影之声”研究项目，以记录决定其日常食物消费的因素。在研讨会上介绍了研究方法，讨论内容包括与摄影相关的伦理问题以及如何拍照。为参与者提供了数码相机，并要求他们用摄影回答以下问题：“你日常生活的哪些方面影响你吃什么以及吃多少？”。在最后一次研讨会上，小组成员讨论了照片，参与者确定了照片中的关键主题，从他们的角度对粮食不安全有了一定理解。然后小组讨论了如何利用所获得的知识。
改善粮食安全的因素包括分享“传统食物”的习俗制度，以及社区中社会支持网络的存在，如食品银行、施粥所和图基西贾维克中心。被认为对粮食安全有负面影响的因素是北极地区食品成本高昂以及药物滥用。参与者通过协商一致决定该项目的知识是否以及如何传播。他们决定2010年夏天举办一次照片博物馆展览，并将研究结果在努纳武特地区的政策制定者中进行推广，这是高度优先事项。
采用“摄影之声”等参与式研究方法有望在北极其他处于类似不利和脆弱状况的人群中探索粮食安全问题。这种方法被证明是收集和分享研究数据的一种有用方式，因为数据是由参与者生成和分析的。参与者得出的清晰简洁的信息可用于为政策提供参考。这种研究方法有助于为北极地区乃至全球的健康研究做出宝贵贡献，因为它促进了从个人自身角度对其经历的理解。
