Hope and Aging: Hermeneutic Photography as Qualitative Evidence

This conference was one of the best conferences that I have ever attended. The theme of the conference was Evidence Based Practice: Paradigms and Dialogues. There were 5 keynote speakers who each presented a different and challenging perspective of evidence based practice and what constitutes EBP. Some of these speakers challenged the notion of evidence and the narrow view that is held by the scientific community about what constitutes evidence. I was particularly encouraged by these challenges as one of the premises of my paper was that we must really look at how we define evidence and I concluded that it is important for us to embrace a much broader definition of what constitutes evidence. Further I suggested that we must look at broadening the ways in which we collect evidence and argued for inclusion of qualitative methods of data collection (such as observation, photography etc) as legitimate forms of evidence. Interestingly, the some of the keynote speakers were in keeping with the tenets that I had proposed regarding broadening the definition of evidence and for me, it was a refreshing change from the traditional understandings that legitimate evidence primarily is established through RCT’s (randomized clinical trials). The concurrent sessions and symposia provided opportunity for dialogue about these issues and the move to considering new paradigms for thinking about research evidence that are broader and more inclusive. It was good to connect with scholars from around the world and to note the dissatisfaction with traditional views of research, evidence and strength of evidence. These dialogues are particularly important for the current work that I am doing at AU in developing a new Advanced Qualitative Research course for the Master of Health Studies program in the Centre for Nursing and Health Studies. Attending this conference has provided me the opportunity to see on a more global level, the emerging dialogues that are shaping our understanding of research. Approximately 40 people attended the session I presented on Hermeneutic Photography as Qualitative Evidence. There was a positive response and feedback about the potential that photography offers as a research method.AIMS: Aging successfully is a topic that has been targeted in recent years. Given the increased life expectancies developing countries, and the graying of the population, increased efforts are being directed at what it is that helps people age successfully. A key ingredient in this process is the role that hope plays in helping people live meaningful lives as they age. METHODS: A hermeneutic photography method was used to explore how older adults experience and live hope in their day to day lives. Older adults were asked to photograph how they lived and experienced hope and were then interviewed using the photographs as interview prompts. Phillipps (2000) suggests that photography is a form of expression that reveals not only who we are, but how the world appears through our eyes\" (Phillips, 2000, p. 44). It is this perspective of hope, that which reveals where the older person stands, how they experience it, and how it appears through their eyes, which will be described. RESULTS: An important discovery in this research was to observe that in every situation, the invitation to participate in this study generated reflection about what hope is and how it is lived. Themes reflecting “living hope” surfaced throughout the research process. A short audiovisual presentation “The Landscape of Hope” will be used to portray the results of the study. CONCLUSIONS: The camera can capture things at times that are not accessible to researchers such as the events of day to day life moments of joy, or grief or just greeting the day and how that is done. Although photography has not been frequently used in discussions of evidence based practice, the author makes a case for the use of photography as a means to capture the description of things or events through image, where at times words escape description.Academic & Professional Development Fund (A&PDF