Photography as a method of data collection: helping people with long-term mental illness to convey their life world

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe a method to help patients with long-term mental illness describe their life situations--their "life worlds"--through photography.

Conclusions: Photographs and interviews are useful for data collection. The positive effect of this method is allowing informants who have long-term mental illnesses to express their perceptions.

Practice implications: Nurses can use photography in conjunction with interviews to ascertain the life worlds of their patients.