HRH | Snap shots from a photo competition: what does it reveal about close-to-community providers, gender and power in health systems?
▻http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/13/1/57
Ethical principles in photography and use of images go beyond issues of consent [3], [22], [23]. They span issues of justice, autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and fidelity. Are we representing subjects respectfully, in ways that do not further marginalize, stigmatize or exploit them personally? Do the images raise questions about health workers, their health system realities and broader public health priorities to support constructive social change? It was striking that several photographs submitted did present traditional images of women as passive beneficiaries of maternal and child health services. Certain aspects of community health provision may be so normalized that they remain invisible. How does this influence policy and programme considerations for close-to-community providers? When reviewing lay health worker policy in South Africa, for example, policymakers failed to see the gendered origins of the working conditions that were acknowledged to be problematic [24].
(...) Most of the photos submitted were by photographers who remained in control of shaping what was included in the images. The photos highlighted, while positive, do not necessarily express the active voice and perspective of close-to-community service providers themselves