Developing Action Plans in Youth Photovoice to Address Community-Level HIV Risk in Rural Malawi

Youth-driven approaches to HIV prevention can engage youth and improve health outcomes. Photovoice has been used to engage youth in identifying the assets and challenges in their communities. In sub-Saharan Africa, youth remain vulnerable to HIV infection. This article describes a photovoice project, named Youth Photovoice, conducted in rural Malawi, which focused on community places and situations relating to risky sexual behaviors that place youth at risk of HIV infection. Twenty-four youth, ages 13-17 (12 males and 12 females), participated in Youth Photovoice. During the photovoice process, youth identified five community situations and places that put them at risk of unsafe sex and thus HIV infection: initiation ceremonies, isolated places, community celebrations, local businesses such as bars and rest houses, and church-sponsored activities. Youth used a systematic action planning process to develop action plans. They presented their action plans to local leaders and parents. Parents and leaders responded positively and agreed to help the youth carry out their plans. If their plans to address community situations that put them at risk of unsafe sex succeed, there will be a direct impact on reducing the risk of HIV infection among youth. Youth Photovoice provided the opportunity for youth to obtain new skills, build new partnerships, and present their ideas to community leaders. Integrating this action planning process into photovoice helped to guide the youth toward actualizing their HIV prevention plans in their community. This process can increase the effectiveness of photovoice initiatives to address other community issues in a wide variety of settings.