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Conference Abstractspublic health efforts to promote health among young women,unhealthy behaviors still prevail. This session will present tworesearch projects that utilized Photovoice methods to explorethe social and environmental factors that lead to poor bodyimage and relationship power, known to be precursors toHIV /STI risk. Methods: The first study explored messagesthat men and women receive that encourages men’s powerin heterosexual relationships. The purpose of this researchwas to uncover and explore the messages young women andmen receive about gender roles with the goal of targeting andchanging those messages to be more empowering to women.The second study explored messages girls receive about theirbodies and what it means to be pretty and sexy. The researchsought to understand how these answers were affected byculture/ethnicity while exploring how body image messagingcan affect interpersonal relationships. Participants in bothstudies were recruited by word of mouth, signed consentsto participate, and represented diverse racial backgrounds.Photovoice assignments focused on messages from mediaand family about gender roles, and ways young peopleget messages about relationships, sources of body image,cultural stereotypes, and personal relationships with bodyimage. Photovoice groups in both studies met periodically todiscuss the photos. Results: Across both projects, messagesfrom the media, family, and peers came through as strongindicators of young women’s sense of self. In turn, this senseof self translated into how they felt about their bodies, eitherpositively or negatively, which dictated how they wouldprotect themselves against eating disorders and HIV/STIrisk. Participants recognized the power of these messages,however, they expressed that things are changing with theirgeneration and they need to be the catalyst for change.Conclusions: Photovoice methods gives public healthpractitioners an intimate look into the social mechanismsat-play behind certain health phenomena. Gaining access tothese young girls’ stories provided the researcher with theopportunity to understand how multiple forces interact, whichcan better inform interventions. Photovoice may also serveas a tool of empowerment. The participants noted feelingencouraged after sharing their stories within a safe group.Photovoice and Body Image: An Explorationinto Body Image Messaging Across Culturesthrough the Lenses of Adolescent MalesDevin Madden, MPH, BA, Morris Heights Health Center,2011 SOPHE Graduate Student Research Paper WinnerBackground: Body image has long been a concern ofpublic health practitioners working with adolescent females.Evidence shows that young girls still suffer with negativebody image at alarming rates and that repercussions (i.e. poorself-esteem, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and riskysexual behaviors) remain on the rise. Recently, researchershave articulated the importance of understanding how bodyimage messaging affects young women of color. The purposeof this research was to investigate body image concerns andsources of such concern for adolescent females of diverseethnic backgrounds. The research sought to understandhow these answers were affected by culture/ethnicity whileexploring how body image messaging can affect interpersonalrelationships. The participants explored solutions that they feltcould effectively foster positive body image, the ultimate goalof this research. Research questions: R1). Why do girls feelMCHES Sessionsthe way they do about their bodies? R2). Where do girls receivetheir messages about body image? R3). Do these answersdiffer across cultures/ethnicities? R4). How do these messagesand feelings impact their relationships? Methods: This studyutilized Photovoice methodology with nine adolescent females(14-17), residing in New York City. The participants representeda broad range of ethnicities. Participants were recruitedthrough non-probability convenience sampling methods.Photography assignments pertained to sources of bodyimage, cultural stereotypes, and personal relationships withbody image. Participants reflected on the research questionsin journals and discussion. The group met four times overfour months. Data was analyzed based on content analysis.Results: All of the girls identified a similar mainstreambody-ideal, and indicated that this ideal often conflicts withideals set forth within ethnic groups and certain cultures.Participants felt that body image sources often told them tobe anyone but who they were naturally. All of the participantsnoted that media, peers, boys (heterosexually), and familyinfluenced body image. There was agreement that poor bodyimage could lead to risky sexual encounters. The participantsproposed that workshops, such as these, could foster positivebody image. Conclusions: Photovoice gives public healthpractitioners an intimate look at the social mechanisms atplaybehind certain health phenomena. Gaining access tothese young girls’ stories provided the researcher with theopportunity to understand how multiple forces interact, whichcan better inform interventions. Photovoice may also serveas a tool of empowerment. The participants noted feelingencouraged after sharing their stories within a safe group.Friday, October 28, 2011 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pmConcurrent Session BConcurrent Session B1Improving Child and AdolescentHealth through Systems ChangeRoom: Studio DCommunity-Wide Health Program Planningfor Adolescent Sexual Health Educationand Health Care Access: A Successful Modelfor School Board Policy ChangeVivian Barnett, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health; JoyMessinger, MSW, MPH, CHES, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent HealthThe Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) supportspositive adolescent health outcomes and promotes ageappropriate,medically accurate, evidence-based sexualhealth education and health care services. Since 2007, ICAHhas documented advocacy approaches for multi-level changewithin all elements of the socio-ecological framework, withcareful attention to youth development, educator training,community engagement, coalition building, and school boardpolicy change using intergenerational approaches towardsustainability of health education in school systems. Thispresentation will share ICAH’s approach to successful schoolboard policy change, which assesses local communities andplaces them within a phased-in, action-oriented model atthe following stages: Ready for Health Program Planning;Ready for Policy Change; and Ready for Implementation,Monitoring, and Evaluation. ICAH will share resources fromSOPHE 62nd Annual Meeting21