This exhibit showcases content created during a collaboration between the Weber-Morgan Health Department (WMHD) and Weber State University to assess the perceptions and experiences of residents in Weber and Morgan counties regarding health. Specifically, the study focuses on residents’ perspectives on the health needs of their communities.

Community health assessments are an important activity for any local health department. In addition to helping the department better understand the needs of its community (and thus help guide and direct both programming and policy), community health assessments are considered one of the core functions of public health.

One of the techniques used for this exhibition is called PHOTOVOICE. Community members were asked to use digital cameras to take photographs of things in their community which they believed related to or offered a perspective on a set of framing questions. These questions included:

1. What are some examples of how your community is healthy and well? What are some ways in which your community promotes the health of its residents?

2. What are some of the health problems that you, your family, and your community face?

3. What are some ways in which the health problems that you have identified could be resolved or improved?

The participants also provided written reflections about the content of the images and their thoughts about how the images say something important about health and our community. These images and reflections, along with content from focus groups made up of other community members, are what create the exhibit you see here.