Picturing Leisure: Using Photovoice to Understand the Experience of Leisure and Dementia

Interviews and participant observation are commonly used to explore the experience of dementia, yet may not adequately capture perspectives of persons with dementia as communication changes. We used photovoice (i.e., using cameras in qualitative research) along with interviews and participant observation to explore meanings of leisure for persons with dementia. We discuss our photovoice process and the challenges we encountered, including ethical concerns, difficulty using the equipment, forgetting the context of photos, and questioning self. Despite challenges, photovoice aided in cuing memory, planning for the interview, sharing stories, and capturing meaning. We recommend further exploration of photovoice with this population.