Our Voice NOLA: Leveraging a Community Engaged Citizen Science Method to Contextualize the New Orleans Food Environment

Objective: We employed the Our Voice citizen scientist method using a mobile application (app) to identify and contextualize neighborhood-level features influencing food access and wellbeing in New Orleans, Louisiana. Design: A three-phase, multi-method study comprised of: (1) a researcher-assisted tag-a-long neighborhood walk (referred to as a 'journey') with the Discovery Tool (DT) app to document neighborhood-level features via geo-coded photos and audio-recorded narratives; (2) a post-journey interview to enable citizen scientists to share their lived experiences; and (3) a community meeting with citizen scientists and local stakeholders. Setting: Various neighborhoods in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Participants: Citizen Scientists (i.e., residents) aged 18 years and older. Main Outcome Measure(s): Features that influence food access and health behaviors. Analysis: Descriptive statistics and a thematic content analysis were conducted to assess survey and app data. Results: Citizen scientists (N = 14) captured 178 photos and 184 audio narratives. Eight major themes were identified: safety; walkability; aesthetics; amenities; food; health services; neighborhood changes; and infrastructure/city planning. The post-journey interview provided insights around the abovementioned themes. The community meeting demonstrated the willingness of citizen scientists and stakeholders to convene and discuss issues and relevant solutions. Conclusions and Implications: Findings demonstrate the ability of technology and citizen science to help better understand the complexities of New Orleans' past, present and distinct culture-and implications for food access and wellbeing in the context of trauma in an urban ecosystem.