Umbrella review on peer support in mental disorders

Abstract

In recent decades, peer support has emerged as a form of treatment for mental health conditions alongside traditional forms of treatment. We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to provide a unified perspective of the effectiveness of peer support in mental health. This umbrella review was developed in line with PRISMA recommendations for reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO’s International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42020205540). The AMSTAR 2 instrument was used to assess the quality of included reviews. While the treatment effects of peer support are broad-based, a greater number of reviews found improvement in recovery-oriented outcomes compared to clinical and psychosocial ones. No major adverse effects were associated with peer support. In contrast to traditional treatments, peer support is a relatively under-explored field and possibly as a result, many of the studies are low in quality. However, the potential for peer support to improve outcomes in mental health conditions cannot be ignored. More rigorous research should be conducted to fortify the evidence base, taking into consideration peer-patient characteristics, implementation factors and cultural nuances.