Photo-essay as an assessment strategy for learning about the determinants of health: Students' experiences

Background: An understanding of determinants of health is critical for nurses to be able to develop effective care plans for their patients; however little work has been published which evaluates learning opportunities for students around the determinants of health. Aim: To gain an understanding of students' experiences of a newly designed assessment task which focused on the determinants of health-a photo-essay. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted. Students undertaking the course were asked to complete a reflective thinking questionnaire both pre- and post- course. Data from individual students was matched and differences in responses to the questionnaire determined. Students were also asked to briefly describe their impressions of the photo-essay assessment task. A thematic analysis of the students' impressions of the photo-essay task was completed. Results: An analysis of pre- and post- course questionnaire results identified that there were statistically significant differences regarding the constructs (or proxies) for the levels of students' understanding and critical reflection. A thematic analysis of the students' impressions of the photo-essay assessment task indicated four main themes - the challenge, the enjoyment, learning, and the connection of theory to their local environment. Discussion: Findings indicate that this assessment task provided opportunity for students to learn about the determinants of health. Benefits to students included the changes in the constructs for levels of understanding and critical reflection. These changes aligned with the themes identified in students' free text comments. Conclusions: Based on this project, it is concluded that photo-essays may be an innovative assessment approach of the determinants of health which may be used in nursing education to enhance understanding and critical reflection.