The development of a digital story anti-stigma campaign: A community-based participatory research approach

Background

• Stigma manifests through the social, economic, and environmental conditions inhabited by People Who Use Drugs on a daily basis.
• Peers from UISCE, HSE National Drug Treatment Centre, and Merchants Quay Ireland co-produced a novel digital story to reduce stigma towards People Who Use Drugs.
• The project aimed to identify the impact of the collaborative design process, experiences of stigma, and solutions to reduce stigma.

Methods

• 15 peers from UISCE, HSE National Drug Treatment Centre, and Merchants Quay Ireland took part in the project.
• A combination of the photo voice technique, storyboarding, focus groups, and multimodal transcripts were used to design the final digital story.
• The project framework was underpinned by Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach and values from the Peer Partnership for Change Framework.
• The final story was created through consensus driven sessions showcasing democratic decision making amongst peers and academic partners in an equitable way.
• Peers took 198 pictures and shortlisted 70 for the final digital story.

Findings: Focus Group Interviews

• Pictures underwent Visual analysis, paying attention to the aesthetic, symbolic and abstract meaning of the photographs.
• A series of 7 focus groups were conducted. Discussions revolved around the experience with the process of photo taking and experience of stigma with associated solutions.
• Interview transcripts were analysed using codebook reliability deductive thematic analysis integrating intersectional stigma and harm reduction philosophy. There were six themes in total.