N.C. State researchers find lack of diversity in free photo libraries

Researchers at North Carolina State University believe a lack of diversity in health-related pictures on stock photography sites could hinder the effectiveness of communications to those audiences. 

According to a news release, the study focused on five popular stock image libraries and searched each site for healthy eating, exercising, quitting smoking, vaccination and pregnancy. 

“Many organizations that produce health outreach materials rely on stock photography sites to produce those materials,” said Michelle Jewell, the study's co-author and a science communicator in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State, in the release. 

“In many cases, organizations that create outreach materials for minoritized groups or populations with lower socioeconomic status have limited resources, which exacerbates the challenges they face in producing effective materials that reflect the publics they serve,” she added.

The release pointed out that a search of the same terms in the different photo libraries generated pictures of light-skinned people in a small age range, which makes producing health education materials targeted for minority populations more costly for organizations that are trying to get the information out.

Through the study, researchers discovered, when it comes to diversity, there is a big difference between pictures available on free stock photography libraries, when compared to those that require financial compensation, according to the release. Pictures on the paid sites were more likely to include people from different ethnic groups. 

Zachary Chichester, first author of the study and an undergraduate student at East Carolina University, said it was important to highlight this issue "in order to ensure that creators of health education media are able to produce materials that are most effective." 

The study also found photos specific to older age groups in any race or ethnic group were also more difficult to find, according to the release. 

The study was published in the journal of Health Promotion Practice and was supported by the the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.