Wellness Video Ethnographies

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is key to the design, funding, and management of services that are core to the health of California’s nearly 40 million residents with special focus on those living with particular economic, social, and wellness challenges. LTG provided DHCS with ethnographic video and ethnographic methods services to support a better understanding and services for families with low incomes. LTG designed and conducted a project in which two groups were identified, recruited, and for whom video ethnographies were developed. The two groups were families with limited incomes working to raise fully well children, and community leaders who were developing creative and leading-edge responses to the challenges of child and family wellness. LTG created two feature-length video ethnographies focused on parents raising healthy children in low-income families and communities and the second onleading edge services to promote strong families and communities. The videos are being used in policy, program, educational, and advocacy venues. The videos may be found at: https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/publications/Pages/Obesity-Prevention-Project.aspx. The videos were chosen for an anthropological film festival and the work was honored with a Praxis award recognition for “outstanding achievement in translating anthropological knowledge into action as
reflected in a single project or specific endeavor.”