Local researcher using art-based approach to address youth drinking rate

Based on a recent study, that revealed the drinking rate amongst high school students in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division was 20 per cent higher than the national average, a local researcher has set out to look at the issue through a wider lens.

Doctor Geoffrey Maina with the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan received a grant from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) for an art-based participatory action research method called Photovoice. The students selected for the research project will be asked to take photos that reflect their own realities and experiences with alcohol and substance use.

“They have the power to determine what makes sense and what has meaning to them, we don’t offer them an agenda and we don’t tell them what to look for,” Maina said, adding some examples of photos could include a bottle or a picture of their friends drinking at a party.