“They went down that road, and they get it”: A qualitative study of peer support worker roles within perinatal substance use programs

Abstract

BackgroundPerinatal substance use programs employ multidisciplinary teams to support women who use drugs through pregnancies and parenting, with some programs expanding to include peer support workers with lived experience of parenting and substance use. Research has shown peer support to enhance care in substance use treatment; however, little research exists that examines this model of support within perinatal substance use programs. We explore the current and potential role of peer support workers within perinatal substance use programs, from the perspectives of mothers accessing these programs. MethodsWe conducted focus groups with 20 mothers enrolled in three perinatal substance use programs serving the greater Vancouver area, including two community-based programs that employed peer workers and an acute care maternity ward that did not. We recorded focus groups, had them professionally transcribed, and analyzed them thematically. ResultsParticipants characterized peer support workers as extending and complementing informal care practices already occurring within programs, including mother-to-mother support with breastfeeding, childcare, and system navigation. Integrating peer workers shifted care relations and practices in ways that participants found beneficial. Participants emphasized how support workers with similar social locations and life experiences—beyond just their substance use—helped to foster trust and safety for mothers in the program. Indigenous mothers discussed the importance of having Indigenous support workers whose practice is grounded in their cultures and experiences under colonization. Participants ascribed an aspirational status to peer support workers, conveying that it was motivational to see other mothers working in the program, and described the role as a means of maintaining connection and community. However, some expressed concerns about managing professional-personal boundaries and being emotionally “triggered” by the work. ConclusionThis study evidences benefits of employing peer support workers within perinatal substance use programs, while also indicating the need for organizational processes to ensure that peer staff are integrated equitably and supported adequately.