Using pictures to promote health

Organization: Child and Adolescent Health Service of Western Australia
Country of Implementation: Australia
Region: Australia & Oceania
First published: 31.01.2016

"Picture my Participation" is a paediatric self-report tool that uses pictures to discuss health-related topics for children aged 5–17 in various contexts and settings. The tool can be used to measure the level of participation of children with disabilities in low and middle income countries (LAMI) and other marginalised communities

Solution details

People

Catherine ELLIOTT

“Using ‘Picture My Participation’, we hope to gain an accurate understanding of the participation outcomes of children with disabilities in low and middle income countries, and ultimately intervene in ways that will effectively and sustainably address their needs.” Project Research Team

Problems Targeted

Currently, there is only limited knowledge about the participation outcomes of children and youth living in low and middle-income countries, mostly because of a shortage of tools to measure their participation and the inadequacy of existing ones. Even though many countries are working to improve their health care services and to give people with disabilities access to them, there is still a lack of data concerning children with disabilities that could be used to improve their situation in LAMI countries.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

“Picture my Participation” uses pictures to identify the frequencies of a child’s participation, for example, through the collection of data on how often someone goes to school, the level of involvement and barriers, as well as factors that facilitate the participation of a child in different contexts. Using simple language – without jargon and technical expressions – the tool allows children to tell their own stories about their level of participation in their homes, their communities, and in educational settings. The pictures, which are used within the process and can be adapted to various cultural contexts, are intended to support discussion and understanding of the assessment, which consists of six steps and takes about 20 minutes to complete.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

In 2015, the application will be refined and piloted and psychometric testing will be completed. The tool, including a learning package, will be fully implemented by the end of 2018 in all 145 LAMI countries in Spanish, Arab, Chinese, English, French, and Russian. Furthermore, global awareness of the rights of children with disabilities will be increased through the provision of strategies to improve participation. Because the application is available online and the tool is largely image based, it can be translated into other languages and used worldwide.