Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS): Persona Testing of a Peer Mentoring Program

Abstract

Research Objectives To complete pilot testing of a peer mentoring program for college students with concussion. Design Mixed method cohort. Setting Outpatient specialty clinic; virtual platform. Participants Seven college students with history of concussion while in college, trained as peer mentors in the Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS) program. Interventions Peer mentors completed a two-level online training to prepare for mentoring. Personas were developed from case studies and portrayed by current college students trained as fictitious mentees to inform iterative program development. Five participants completed two cycles of peer mentoring with personas, and two completed one cycle. Cycles were 4 weeks and with unique personas. Mentors and personas interacted via chat, online meetings, and discussion boards. Main Outcome Measures Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), academic measures, and program satisfaction survey. Mentors also provided program feedback in a series of three focus groups. Results PCSS scores and academics were stable, indicating no negative impacts on symptoms or academics. PROMIS scores showed a trend toward greater self-efficacy, and DASS showed a trend toward fewer mental health complaints. On a 0 to 100 scale, mentors indicated they would be very likely to recommend SUCCESS to a mentee (M=94.25, SD=9.84). Program features were also rated highly (M= 83.59, SD=18.24). Focus group feedback resulted in improvements to the virtual platform interface and program materials. Mentors reported feeling well-prepared and that they had provided positive experiences to personas. Conclusions Although no significant changes were observed on objective measures, trends were in line with expected results. Efficacy testing should further examine academic, psychosocial, and recovery outcomes in both peer mentors and student mentees recovering from concussion. Author(s) Disclosures N/A. To complete pilot testing of a peer mentoring program for college students with concussion. Mixed method cohort. Outpatient specialty clinic; virtual platform. Seven college students with history of concussion while in college, trained as peer mentors in the Success in College after Concussion with Effective Student Supports (SUCCESS) program. Peer mentors completed a two-level online training to prepare for mentoring. Personas were developed from case studies and portrayed by current college students trained as fictitious mentees to inform iterative program development. Five participants completed two cycles of peer mentoring with personas, and two completed one cycle. Cycles were 4 weeks and with unique personas. Mentors and personas interacted via chat, online meetings, and discussion boards. Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), academic measures, and program satisfaction survey. Mentors also provided program feedback in a series of three focus groups. PCSS scores and academics were stable, indicating no negative impacts on symptoms or academics. PROMIS scores showed a trend toward greater self-efficacy, and DASS showed a trend toward fewer mental health complaints. On a 0 to 100 scale, mentors indicated they would be very likely to recommend SUCCESS to a mentee (M=94.25, SD=9.84). Program features were also rated highly (M= 83.59, SD=18.24). Focus group feedback resulted in improvements to the virtual platform interface and program materials. Mentors reported feeling well-prepared and that they had provided positive experiences to personas. Although no significant changes were observed on objective measures, trends were in line with expected results. Efficacy testing should further examine academic, psychosocial, and recovery outcomes in both peer mentors and student mentees recovering from concussion.