A Photovoice Study on Life After Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injury: "There Is Somebody Out There Who Knows What You're Going Through".

Background: Brachial plexus injury (BPI) leads to a variety of life-altering changes, both physically and mentally. While tremendous effort has been dedicated to improving patients' upper-extremity function through surgical and rehabilitation advances, patients' life experiences after BPI are largely understudied and poorly understood. Our study aims were to qualitatively assess the patient experience after BPI through the use of a photojournalism method known as photovoice, a community-based participatory research methodology centered on participant photograph-taking, and to trial the use of photovoice as a novel qualitative method within the field of orthopaedics.

Methods: We utilized both photovoice and qualitative methods to highlight the experiences of 7 participants living with a traumatic BPI (5 male and 1 female, 4 White and 2 Black, plus 1 not stated). The study was conducted in 6 phases with a mix of 1-on-1 and focus group discussions. Over the course of 10 weeks, the group met to generate photography prompts, analyze photographs (in 1-on-1 meetings with researchers), and discuss the meaning of photographs as a group. The research team analyzed transcripts from all 1-on-1 and group discussions to create 2 editions of e-magazines, which included quotes from transcribed data layered with photographs from each participant, to serve as patient-facing support materials for future patients with BPI. In the final phase, the research team shared the e-magazines with the participants in a group discussion.

Results: The participant-selected topics highlighted in the e-magazines ranged from pain after injury to tips and tricks for living with BPI. Photovoice was effective in building community among patients with BPI and creating meaningful patient-facing support materials. Our findings demonstrate the utility of using participant-generated photography as a tool to encourage meaningful conversation and develop community among participants.

Conclusions: Participant-led methodologies, such as photovoice, provide opportunities for patients to convey their life experiences to their community and to their health-care providers in a unique way. Our study also demonstrates the potential for photovoice to improve the patient experience by generating a sense of community, allowing patients to express themselves, and inspiring others.