(P24-006-23) An Innovative and Participatory Approach to Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Health-Related Intervention To Reduce Obesity and Unemployment in Adults

Objectives: Obesity and unemployment are interlinked with complex health and social challenges however, holistic health-related interventions to address these challenges are lacking. The Adding to Social capital and individual Potential In disadvantaged Regions (ASPIRE) project is a holistic intervention implemented in France and the UK to reduce unemployment and obesity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ASPIRE project using an innovative and participatory method.

Methods: Qualitative data was collected using Photovoice. Photovoice is a visual, community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods whereby participants take photographs to document, reflect upon, and communicate issues of concern, while stimulating social change. 20 purposively sampled participants were encouraged to take photos describing their experiences of participating in the project using a pre-specified brief. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insights into the photos and to discuss participants’ experience of the project. Thematic and content analyses using both deductive and inductive approaches were conducted to develop themes that described participants’ experiences of the project.

Results: Included participants were 38.5±15.1 years and 55% female. The majority (45%) were living with partner and/or family, had less than 5 years’ work experience (65%) and had either post-secondary education/qualifications or vocational/job skills training (70%). Preliminary results indicated that prior to participation in the project, participants experienced low self-efficacy and self-esteem, social isolation, poor physical and mental health and struggled to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Emergent themes on the effect of the intervention included improved self-efficacy and self-esteem, positive impacts on diet, physical activity and positive employment outcomes.

Conclusions: The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of holistic interventions to reduce obesity and unemployment and highlight the value of Photovoice as an innovative and participatory research method for eliciting experiential data.

Funding Sources: This work is funded by grants from the EU Interreg European Regional Development Fund.