Our Research Methodology

Adapted Photovoice for Maximum Inclusion

Four photographs with captions. The first shows a woman on an airplane smiling at the camera, captioned "Who wants to climb over me to get to their seat...?" The second depicts a person in a wheelchair on a dock next to a kayak, captioned "Solution that Works." The third features a woman in a wheelchair attending a presentation, captioned "Solution that Works." The fourth displays a parking lot at night with cars parked in striped spots, captioned "Education: The striped section has a PURPOSE – I need space so that my wheelchairs can come out and I can transfer on it!"

Visual storytelling + lived experience = powerful evidence for change

Understanding Our Approach

This research uses an adapted photovoice method—a participatory research approach that puts the camera (or voice recorder, or pen) in the hands of people with lived experience. Instead of researchers deciding what matters, parents with disabilities document their own realities, interpret their own experiences, and drive the conversation about what needs to change.

 

Our community-led, participatory approach ensures that parents with disabilities aren't just research subjects—they're co-researchers shaping every aspect of this project.

What is Photovoice?

The Core Idea

Photovoice is a participatory research method that uses photographs and personal narratives to explore and communicate lived experiences within a community (Wang & Burris, 1997; Powers et al., 2012).

In photovoice, participants become co-researchers. They:

  • Take photos (or create other materials) that capture their experiences

  • Share the stories behind what they've documented

  • Collectively interpret the meanings

  • Highlight barriers, strengths, and opportunities for change

Unlike traditional research where researchers observe and interpret, photovoice hands the power of documentation and interpretation to the people with lived experience.

How This Method Fits With Our Project

In our study, photovoice enables parents and caregivers with disabilities to visually document accessibility experiences—showing what inclusion and exclusion actually look like in everyday family life. 

When a parent with a mobility disability can't access a playground with their child, they don't just tell us about it—they show us. When a Deaf parent faces communication barriers at a passport office, they document it. When a parent with an intellectual disability finds a helpful accessibility feature, they capture it to show what works.

This visual and narrative documentation creates evidence that's impossible to ignore.

Why Photovoice Matters

Photovoice aims to:

→ Empower individuals to express experiences often overlooked in traditional research

→ Foster dialogue between communities, researchers, and policymakers

→ Drive social and structural change through visual storytelling and community advocacy

→ Center the expertise of people with disabilities

As one researcher notes: "Images reveal accessibility gaps that traditional surveys often miss" (Labbé et al., 2021).

Historical Roots

Photovoice was developed in the 1990s by Caroline Wang and Mary Ann Burris as a participatory action research method. Originally used in rural China to help marginalized communities document their realities and advocate for change, it has since been adopted worldwide.

Core Principles

1. EMPOWERMENT
Participants use photography (or other media) to express their perspectives and experiences in their own voice—not filtered through a researcher's interpretation.

2. PARTICIPATION
Community members act as co-researchers, shaping all stages of the research from design to dissemination.

3. CRITICAL REFLECTION
Images and stories spark dialogue, helping participants and researchers reflect on social structures, barriers, and inequities.

4. SOCIAL ACTION
Findings aren't locked in academic journals—they're shared to influence policies, raise awareness, and foster inclusion.

5. ETHICAL CARE
Respect for autonomy, informed consent, and emotional safety is central to every step.

Why Photovoice Fits This Project Perfectly

Captures Real Accessibility Experience

Photovoice allows parents and caregivers with disabilities to visually document their interactions with federally regulated environments—from transportation to service delivery, from national parks to passport offices.

These images reveal what accessibility actually means in practice:

  • The too-high button a wheelchair user can't reach

  • The ramp that's too steep to safely use with a child

  • The family washroom that has no accessible changing table

  • The playground equipment that excludes rather than includes

Visual and documented evidence makes the invisible visible.

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01

Informs National Accessibility Standards

By combining personal narratives with visual evidence, photovoice produces tangible data that can directly inform Accessibility Standards Canada's research priorities and policy recommendations.

Policymakers can see:

  • Exactly what barriers look like in real environments

  • The creative adaptations families develop

  • What "accessible" should actually mean

  • The gap between policy and lived reality

03

Promotes Inclusive Participation

The method accommodates different communication modes—photos, captions, voice memos, or text—ensuring equitable participation across disability types and linguistic needs (English, French, ASL, LSQ).

Unlike traditional research methods that favor certain ways of communicating, adapted photovoice works for:

  • People with visual disabilities (audio descriptions, voice memos)

  • People with mobility differences (flexible documentation methods)

  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing participants (visual documentation, no audio required)

  • People with cognitive disabilities (simplified processes, flexible timelines)

  • People with varying literacy levels (options beyond writing)

04

Builds Collaboration Between Communities and Policymakers

Participants act as co-researchers, helping identify barriers, propose solutions, and influence how accessibility is defined and measured at the federal level

This isn't research done TO people with disabilities—it's research done WITH and BY people with disabilities.

05

Builds Collaboration Between Communities and Policymakers

Photovoice aligns with Accessibility Standards Canada's commitment to equity, inclusion, and lived expertise—ensuring that accessibility standards are shaped by the people most affected by them.

Examples of Photovoice in Action

Photovoice has been successfully used with:

  • Mothers with physical disabilities documenting social inclusion barriers (Stone, 2021)

  • People with intellectual disabilities exploring community participation (Anderson et al., 2023)

  • Youth from Indigenous communities examining health and wellness (Nykiforuk et al., 2011)

  • Older adults investigating age-friendly environments (Ronzi et al., 2016)

  • Marginalized communities identifying systemic barriers (Fricas, 2022; Chinn & Balota, 2023)

These projects have successfully:

  • Identified previously undocumented barriers

  • Influenced policy decisions

  • Created meaningful change by centering lived experience

  • Empowered participants to become advocates

Real Examples From Our Team

Below are examples of the kinds of accessibility barriers and solutions that photovoice can document:

These examples show how photovoice captures not just what barriers exist, but how they affect real families in real situations. The emotional impact—frustration, humor, resilience—comes through in ways that statistics alone cannot convey.

  • Hand-activated sensor button placed too high on a shopping mall pillar

    "If only I could STEP ON IT!"

    Context: Accessibility features that are installed but placed at heights inaccessible to wheelchair users create the illusion of accessibility without actual function.

  • Dangerous ramp with steep drop and no safety barriers

    "Yeah, right? I am not looking to die today!"

    Context: Ramps that don't meet safety standards put parents with mobility disabilities and their children at serious risk.

  • Sidewalk with raised curb making rolling access impossible

    "Great use of sidewalk... but no way for me to roll on it!"

    Context: Infrastructure improvements that ignore universal design exclude people with disabilities from public spaces.

  • Person in mobility scooter unable to reach payment terminal

    "Well... I guess I am not paying!"

    Context: Service counters and payment systems designed without considering diverse body positions create unnecessary barriers to independence.

  • Broken door handle with metal piece hanging out

    "One thing is to make it accessible, but to ensure access, you need to maintain it!"

    Context: Accessibility isn't just about initial installation—ongoing maintenance is essential for sustained access.

  • Badly cracked sidewalk creating tripping hazards and obstacles

    "One thing is to make it accessible, but to ensure access, you need to maintain it!"

    Context: Deteriorating infrastructure particularly impacts people with mobility disabilities and parents managing children and equipment.

  • Parking lot at night with cars blocking accessible spaces

    "Where am I supposed to park as a parent who needs accessible parking?"

    Context: Enforcement of accessible parking is as important as its availability.

  • Construction zone with metal fencing placed directly on accessible parking spot

    "Where am I supposed to park as a parent who needs accessible parking?"

    Context: Temporary construction often eliminates accessible parking without providing alternatives, assuming people with disabilities can "just park somewhere else."

Accessibility in Everyday Life

These images illustrate real-world accessibility challenges and opportunities for creating more inclusive communities.

Adaptive Photovoice: Designing for Inclusion

Traditional photovoice uses photographs. But what about people who:

  • Using a camera or taking a picture is challenging or not an option

  • Have difficulty operating cameras?

  • Who are verbal communicators/ versus communicating in writing

  • Have fluctuating symptoms that make photography challenging?

Our adapted approach recognizes that not all parents with disabilities can or want to use cameras.

Multiple Documentation Formats

    • Smartphone photos

    • Camera photos

    • Screenshots

    • Images taken by support people following participant direction

    • Audio descriptions of environments (up to 2 minutes)

    • Narrated experiences

    • Voice memos about barriers

    • Recorded observations

    • Typed descriptions (up to 500 words)

    • Notes about experiences

    • Detailed accounts

    • Short-form or long-form writing

    • Voice explanations of photos (up to 1 minute)

    • Spoken descriptions

    • Narrated context

    • Participants may capture attitudinal or physical barriers through drawings or other art forms.

Why This Flexibility Matters

  • A parent with low vision can describe a barrier without photographing it

  • A parent with chronic fatigue can record brief voice notes instead of writing lengthy descriptions

  • A Deaf parent can submit photos without audio components

  • A parent with hand pain can speak instead of type

  • A parent with cognitive disabilities can choose the format that feels most comfortable

ANY COMBINATION WORKS

Participants can mix and match formats based on:

  • Their access needs

  • Their preferences

  • The situation they're documenting

  • What feels most comfortable in the moment

One participant might submit mostly photos with occasional voice memos. Another might use primarily written descriptions. Both contributions are equally valuable.

 

What Participants Will Document

    • Airports, train stations, ferry terminals

    • Purchasing tickets and boarding processes

    • Managing luggage with children and mobility aids

    • Navigating security checkpoints

    • Accessing washrooms and family facilities

    • Dealing with last-minute cancellations or changes

    • Playground accessibility

    • Trail access with children and mobility equipment

    • Picnic and rest areas

    • Parking and facility access

    • Accessible equiment availability (adaptive strollers, etc.)

     

    • Navigating exhibits with children

    • Accessing gift shops with strollers or mobility devices

    • Family washroom facilities

    • Interactive displays designed for children

    • Staff interactions and assistance

    • Banks (opening accounts for/with children)

    • Passport offices (completing paperwork, bringing children)

    • Government buildings (accessing services as a parent)

    • Interactions with federal employees

    • Attitudinal barriers from staff

  • Participants document:

    BARRIERS: What doesn't work, what's missing, what's difficult

    FACILITATORS: What works well, helpful features, positive solutions, creative adaptations

    This balanced approach ensures we learn both what to avoid and what to replicate.

Be Part of The Change

Who Can Participate?

A woman in a wheelchair riding an electric bicycle along a coastal area with two men nearby, one standing and one sitting.

Photo credit: Justice Ferreira

You can participate if you are:

A parent or primary caregiver to at least one minor child (under 18)

A white check mark inside a brown circular background.

Have at least one of the following disabilities:

  • Mobility disabilities (pain-related, flexibility, dexterity, mobility differences)

  • Hearing disabilities or identify as Deaf

  • Visual disabilities or identify as Blind

  • Cognitive disabilities (learning, memory, intellectual, or developmental)

  • Any combination of these disabilities

White checkmark inside a brown circle.

Live in Canada (any province or territory)

White checkmark inside a brown circle.

Visit or use federally regulated spaces with your child/children (examples: national parks, airports, museums, banks, passport offices, trains, interprovincial buses or ferries)

A white check mark inside a brown circle.

We Especially Encourage Participation From:

A group of ten people, including children in strollers, standing on a gravel path by a wooden fence with ocean in the background on a sunny day.

Photo credit: Justice Ferreira

Parents with intersecting marginalized identities

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Indigenous parents and caregivers

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Parents from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds

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Parents living in rural and remote communities

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Parents across all gender identities

Parents across socioeconomic backgrounds

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Brown circular background with a white check mark in the center.

Single parents

Parents in various family configurations

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White checkmark inside a brown circular background.

Immigrant and newcomer parents

Questions about Methodology?

Contact us anytime: familyaccess@mun.ca

Be Part of the Change

References

Anderson, S., et al. (2023). Photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities...
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology.
Chinn, P., & Balota, D. (2023). Visual narratives from marginalized communities...
Fricas, J. (2022). Photovoice and social inclusion...
Labbé, D., et al. (2020). Participatory research through photovoice...
Labbé, D., et al. (2021). Visual evidence in accessibility research...

Nykiforuk, C., et al. (2011). Photovoice with Indigenous youth...
Powers, L. E., et al. (2012). Participatory action research in disability studies...
Ronzi, S., et al. (2016). Photovoice and older adults...
Stone, E. (2021). Mothers with physical disabilities and photovoice...
Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use...