Background: Participatory research has been described to improve the relevance of research findings for the society in terms of quality of healthcare services and other public benefits. Nevertheless, there is limited guidance on how to conduct participatory research, and especially in relation to persons living in residential care facilities. To make the voices of this group heard, we therefore take a stance in the democratic approach to participatory research, and we have applied the theoretical framework Model of Human Occupation (MoHO) on participation to evaluate photo-elicitation interviews as a participatory research method with this group.
Methods: A total of 13 persons living in two residential care facilities were involved in the study and asked to take photographs of their everyday life over one week. They were then invited to an individual interview to narrate the meaning of the photographs and to describe how they experienced the photo-elicitation method. The interviews were analysed in the six steps of theoretically driven reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: The findings are described in the theme 'Uncovering hidden abilities for participation in research' that describes how photo elicitation interviews facilitated the older persons' participation in research. This is illustrated by four sub-themes: 'Bridging the ageing body', 'Altering habituation to everyday life', 'Empowering storytelling', and 'Negotiating the institutional culture'.
Conclusions: Our study findings support further application and evaluation of photo-elicitation interviews as a method for participatory research in residential care facilities. The major finding is how photo-elicitation interviews were used to reduce the impact of the institutional culture on the older persons' participation in research. The method is, however, not without limitations and we encourage researchers to study the dynamic relationship between physical, social, and cultural aspects of residential care facilities in relation to the use of photo-elicitation interviews with the persons living there.
Keywords: Care homes; Dementia; Frailty; Methodology; Nursing homes; Participatory research; Photo elicitation; Qualitative methods; Residential aged care.
This study was designed to improve the opportunities for persons living in residential care facilities to participate in research on their own terms. Digital instant print cameras were used by 13 older persons to document their everyday life at two different residential care facilities. The photographs were then followed up with individual interviews, during which the older persons were asked to share their experiences of using the cameras and to tell stories about the meaning of the photographs. Analysing the interviews, we found that the older persons could participate in the study in a way that they did not believe was possible before. They were not used to being given responsibility, and they felt limited by physical and cognitive impairment. Participating in the study, they realised that they had something to contribute with, and that there were aspects of everyday life that they really enjoyed. They felt empowered to share their stories, and we encourage researchers to continue evaluating photographs in combination with interviews in residential care facilities.
© 2023. The Author(s).