Photobook #PictureYourMicrobes
Creators: name: Caballero, Silvia Garcia
name: Sheyla Ordoñez
name: Fuentes, Gloria
name: Zambrano, Laura Judith Marcos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: citizen science
photovoice
photobook
microbiome
nutrition

description: #PictureYourMicrobes is a co-creation and citizen science project that connects science and photography, empowering citizens to improve their nutritional health decisions. This project is funded by the EIT Food consortium and coordinated by IMDEA Food Institute, a center promoted by the Madrid regional government (Comunidad de Madrid), dedicated to developing research and innovation of international excellence in Precision Nutrition. The main objective of this project is to empower citizens with risk factors for developing NCDs, particularly people living with overweight or obesity, by raising awareness about the importance of taking care of the bacterial communities (microbiome) living on our bodies. There is growing scientific research on the microbiome and its influence on the development of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. However, this knowledge still needs to reach citizens. To achieve it, we have developed different phases throughout this study: -Recruitment and selection of 70 participants between 18-65 years old, residents in Spain (peninsula), including areas considered for the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS), such as Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Castilla-la Mancha, Extremadura, Andalucia, Murcia, Castilla y Leon, Aragon and Valencia. -We created six focus groups of 10-12 individuals and four online sessions for each group, in which the methodology of "Citizen Science" and "Photovoice" was carried out and where we sought active participation guided by expert researchers in the area of nutrition and the study of the microbiome. On the one hand, we wanted the participants to be scientists, in other words, those who collected the data related to their diet by completing questionnaires about the frequency of consumption of certain foods, physical activity and the sample collection for microbial profiling performed by the project team. On the other hand, by implementing the Photovoice project, our participants were able to use photography as a tool to communicate their reality and, in turn, that allowed them to be aware and understand eating habits and lifestyle as activities that influence the health of their microbiota. In total, we received 156 photographs, which were discussed in the online meetings of each focus group. Of this total, 64 photos have been selected and will appear in this photobook, along with microbial infographics. Those photographs will have their correspondent title and narrative given by the participants who took them. In addition, 55 of the pictures mentioned will be part of an exhibition in different cultural and civic centres, which will allow wider dissemination of the results and provide increased visibility of the study. During the Photovoice project sessions, we asked the participants to propose categories in which the photographs presented could be grouped. Of all the proposals we received, we have chosen the following: #Balance #Foodie #MindfulEating #SportLife Because our project uses social networks to reach more citizens, we consider that these categories can be shared as hashtags when anyone, whether or not part of our group of participants, wants to publish a photo related to that category.