Abstract
Objective: Peer support interventions can be successful in enhancing physical activity (PA) in a variety of health-related contexts. However, the evidence base remains equivocal, and ways to integrate structured peer support within the context of exercise referral schemes (ERSs) remain unexplored. In this regard, few studies consider the prospective acceptability of peer support interventions. Prior qualitative exploration can elicit insight into factors likely to influence peer intervention success, thus maximising the likelihood of developing and implementing effective peer support interventions. This study assessed the prospective acceptability of a peer support intervention for exercise referral. Design/Setting: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 ERS clients ( n = 10) and providers ( n = 4) across two ERS sites in the North West of England, UK. Method: Interviews covered preferred demographic and personal characteristics of ERS peers and prospective peer roles. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: A desirable ERS peer was perceived as someone who was positive and empathetic, with good interpersonal skills. ERS peers were considered to present a promising opportunity to enhance the accessibility of emotional, motivational and informational support among ERS clients while alleviating burden on ERS providers. Conclusion: Study findings have relevance to the integration of peer support in comparable ERS contexts, highlighting the value of developmental research to refine peer recruitment criteria and to facilitate ownership and support among providers across a variety of health-related contexts.
Highlights
Peer support is a distinct form of social support where the relationship between providers and recipients of peer support is underpinned by recognition of perceived similarity and shared experience (Ginis et al, 2013)
Participant preferences were subsequently organised into three prominent themes to highlight (1) desirable peer demographic characteristics, that is, what exercise referral schemes (ERSs) peers should look like and/or what status they should hold, (2) desirable peer personal characteristics, that is, how ERS peers should interact with ERS clients and providers, and (3) peer roles, that is, how peers can support ERS clients towards scheme completion
Desirable demographic characteristics of ERS peers. This theme explored whether participants considered peers of a particular age, gender or health status to be better suited to ERS peer roles
Summary
Peer support is a distinct form of social support where the relationship between providers and recipients of peer support is underpinned by recognition of perceived similarity and shared experience (Ginis et al, 2013). Physical activity (PA) interventions that incorporate peer support can be effective across a variety of contexts (Hulteen et al, 2019), including schools (Owen et al, 2018) and community-based programmes (Beauchamp et al, 2018), overall the evidence base remains equivocal (Croteau et al, 2014; Gorely et al, 2019) In part, this is due to ambiguity in relation to how peer support PA interventions are designed and implemented, such as how peers are recruited and operationalised (Matz-Costa et al, 2019). There remains a lack of preliminary research to explore whether proposed peer support interventions are considered acceptable by those who will use and deliver them (Yardley et al, 2015)
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