Talking about hope: the use of participant photography

Hope as a concept is commonly described in everyday life and is generally regarded as an important component of health and fulfillment. The importance of hope in relation to people who are marginalised due to illness or other social circumstances has been examined in the research literature. There is, however, a paucity of research addressing the importance of hope for people living with schizophrenia. The authors, in attempting to redress this paucity, identified that participants have difficulty articulating the concept of hope and its meaning to them as individuals. Participant photography was introduced as a research method during the course of the study. This paper presents an overview of the use of participant photography as a method to assist participants to describe their view of hope and its importance. A brief overview of findings are presented and compared with findings derived from traditional interview techniques. Participant photography proved beneficial in facilitating a discussion of hope at a very personal level. The potential ethical implications of this approach are discussed.