Benefits Of Peer Support Research Articles

Eating disorder mentor program

Developing a sense of hope is a foundation for recovery. How can we inspire hope and motivation in those who are suffering from an eating disorder and the struggles that ensue? The Eating Disorder Mentor Program is a collaborative project between The Eating Disorder service at Royal Melbourne Hospital (ED-RMH) and Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV). It's an opportunity for people with a lived experience of an eating disorder to tell their recovery story and share their insight with current patients. Research has shown the many benefits of peer support which include increased feelings of hope for patients and the learning of practical strategies to assist their recovery. Mentors gain skill and satisfaction from seeing their lived experience used as a valuable source of expertise in promoting recovery. This presentation will: • Give an overview of the program including the aims, processes and results • Explore the value achieved by collaboration between a community based mental health provider and a specialist tertiary health service • Highlight the benefit of combining the experience of both health professionals and consumers This abstract was presented in the Care in Inpatient and Community Settings stream of the 2013 ANZAED Conference.

Peer support in mental health: where are we today?

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a summary of where peer support currently sits in the UK mental health services policy and practice. It presents an overview of models of peer support; the UK national policy on peer support; evidence of the benefits of peer support; case studies of recent and continuing peer support in action; challenges facing peer support; and suggestions for developing peer support in the future. Design/methodology/approach – The paper selects and discusses evidence from academic literature and policy and practice on peer support within the UK. Findings – The evidence base demonstrating the benefits of peer support in mental health across the UK is increasing. This has persuaded UK governmental bodies to encourage the development of peer support services, of which there is a number of models and examples, although the current economic climate poses challenges to their development. Originality/value – Historically, peer support in mental health services across the UK has developed piecemeal. But at a time when policy-makers, health practitioners and people who use mental health services are increasingly recognising the benefits of peer support, this paper draws key evidence together and provides pointers towards the future development of such services.

Peer support for carers: a qualitative investigation of the experiences of carers and peer volunteers.

Being a carer of someone with dementia can be rewarding and also challenging. Volunteer peer support schemes for carers are being introduced, little is known about either their impact on carers and volunteers or about volunteers' and carers' experiences. This study investigated peer volunteer and carer recipient experiences of a peer support service. Thematic analysis of 13 in-depth interviews with 9 carers and 4 peer volunteers revealed that peer support helped both carers and peer volunteers through the realization that they were "not alone" in their experiences and emotions. Additional carer benefits included opportunities to talk freely about difficult experiences and learning how others cope. Volunteers found their role rewarding, describing satisfaction from putting their own experiences to good use. These findings highlight the isolation and exclusion experienced by current and former carers of people with dementia and draw attention to the benefits of peer support for both the groups.

Supported employment for young people with intellectual disabilities facilitated through peer support

The article reports the evaluation of a small-scale-supported employment project in a local authority in England. The study examined whether or not the peer support model could be used to deliver supported employment to a group of young people with intellectual disabilities. We utilised a mixed-method approach involving activity data, family interviews and a postal survey with participating employers. Five families took part in the study. Our findings show that families viewed the project positively, although it was insufficiently embedded in the wider transition planning. The study indicates that the peer support model may represent a useful addition to the conventional supported employment efforts for this population. However, more research is needed to demonstrate the benefits of peer support over and above the benefits of conventional supported employment for young people in post-school transition. In particular, producing a better evidence base on the exact impact of peer support on service users' experiences is recommended.

Peer support for parents of children with chronic disabling conditions: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies

To review the qualitative and quantitative evidence of the benefits of peer support for parents of children with disabling conditions in the context of health, well-being, impact on family, and economic and service implications. We comprehensively searched multiple databases. Eligible studies evaluated parent-to-parent support and reported on the psychological health and experience of giving or receiving support. There were no limits on the child's condition, study design, language, date, or setting. We sought to aggregate quantitative data; findings of qualitative studies were combined using thematic analysis. Qualitative and quantitative data were brought together in a narrative synthesis. Seventeen papers were included: nine qualitative studies, seven quantitative studies, and one mixed-methods evaluation. Four themes were identified from qualitative studies: (1) shared social identity, (2) learning from the experiences of others, (3) personal growth, and (4) supporting others. Some quantitative studies reported a positive effect of peer support on psychological health and other outcomes; however, this was not consistently confirmed. It was not possible to aggregate data across studies. No costing data were identified. Qualitative studies strongly suggest that parents perceive benefit from peer support programmes, an effect seen across different types of support and conditions. However, quantitative studies provide inconsistent evidence of positive effects. Further research should explore whether this dissonance is substantive or an artefact of how outcomes have been measured.

Social support in type II diabetes care: a case of too little, too late

Coping with type II diabetic patients is increasingly posing large financial burdens, sorely felt especially by growing economies. Self-management has been found to be an effective approach towards maintaining good control in diabetics. However, although efforts at implementing self-management have had initial success, there has been a lack of sustainability. This review examines the different components impinging on self-care among type II diabetic patients. These include the critical role of social support, the need for support from health care providers, the value of support from family and friends, the influence of sex and cultural factors in self-care behavior, the benefits of peer support, and the role of literacy in diabetes self-care. Despite the mounting evidence for the effectiveness of social support in diabetes care, and the various stakeholders including this in their clinical guidelines, there has only been a lukewarm response from policy-makers towards ensuring its implementation. Hence, more effort is required from health care providers in moving away from just understanding the effects of new drugs and subsequently putting their patients on these drugs, and going back to the basics of communicating with the patients, understanding their woes, and helping to motivate/empower their patients. This paper analyzes the various components of social support, their influence on diabetes self-care, and how health care providers can help in this process.

Talking about tricky transitions with young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and their families

This paper draws on research (Abbott and Carpenter, 2010) for the UK Department of Health. This examined the views of 40 young men and their families (n=102 participants) about the...

Learning by association

between the student and a facilitator to establish a safe and confi dential environment where students feel at ease sharing their practice experiences. The facilitator’s role is to help the students to think and talk about their practice experiences and to signpost students to other support networks (see resources). Evaluations of the forums have been positive, with students often commenting on the benefi ts of peer support and the knowledge that others are experiencing similar uncertainties. One said: ‘The forums made me feel less alone and I valued The transition from university learning environment to fi rst clinical placement is a pivotal and stressful time for students. Not only are nursing students expected to fulfi l a hectic assignment and assessment schedule, they are also full-time clinical staff. They can feel overwhelmed, isolated and even so uncertain that they may consider leaving their nursing course altogether. It is crucial that a formal and seamless system of support is in place for students at this time. Research carried out in 2007/2008 at the University of Nottingham confi rmed high attrition rates are linked to this transition period, and that more needs to be done to improve the experience of students at this point in their studies. As a result, in 2009 the university implemented a support system called student forums. These forums provide students with opportunities to engage in structured refl ective discussion in peer groups while they are on placements. the peer support.’ Another commented: ‘I would have felt isolated without the forum.’ Several students said they were considering leaving the course until they attended the student forums and suggested that the forums should continue throughout their training. As a result the forums are now continuing throughout all diploma and undergraduate nursing programmes in the university.

Lessons from Peer Support Among Individuals with Mental Health Difficulties: A Review of the Literature

We conducted a comprehensive narrative review and used a systematic search strategy to identify studies related to peer support among adults with mental health difficulties. The purposes of this review were to describe the principles, effects and benefits of peer support documented in the published literature, to discuss challenging aspects of peer support and to investigate lessons from peer support. Fifty-one studies, including 8 review articles and 19 qualitative studies, met the inclusion criteria for this review. Most of the challenges for peer support were related to “role” and “relationship” issues; that is, how peer support providers relate to people who receive peer support and how peer support providers are treated in the system. The knowledge gained from peer support relationships, such as mutual responsibility and interdependence, might be a clue toward redefining the helper-helper relationship as well as the concepts of help and support.

692 GROUP SEMINARS ARE AN EFFECTIVE AND ECONOMIC METHOD OF DELIVERING PATIENT INFORMATION REGARDING RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY AND FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES

We aim to explore efficacy and economic benefits of a group intervention for surgical preparation for men undergoing radical prostatectomy and their partners. We selected 255 patients and 104 partners of Guy’s Hospital Urology Centre participated in our group seminars over a 12 month period. Urology clinical nurse specialists delivered three seminar presentations on continence management, erectile dysfunction and early complications to a group of patients and partners. Participant satisfaction was assessed with an anonymous questionnaire using Likert items. Pre-seminar questionnaires indicated that only 23 patients felt prepared for surgery prior to the session. All participants reported to have received adequate information to deal with complications of surgery following the session and all stated a preference to a group seminar with peer support rather than individual consultations. Over 12 months, 30 specialist nursing hours were required to deliver education via seminar sessions to 359 patients. To deliver the same education in individual sessions, 540 specialist nursing hours would have been required. Group seminars are a feasible modality for preparing patients for surgery with effective delivery of information to patients and partners that exceeds individual consultations. Group seminars provide the immediate benefit of peer-support and are economic to both primary and secondary care providers.

Correlates of Peer Support in a Clubhouse Setting

The purpose of this study was to examine the social support characteristics and correlates of peer networks for Clubhouse members. A random sample of 126 members from one Clubhouse was requested to nominate social network members and asked a series of questions about characteristics of supports provided by each network member. Respondents with both peers and non-peers in their network, three fifths of the sample, had more frequent contacts with peers than with non-peers and were more satisfied with peer relationships than with non-peer relationships. Those respondents also reported that peers were less critical than non-peers. Among all respondents, being Caucasian and having better quality of social life were correlated with having a peer network while higher degree of reliance on others and more Clubhouse visits were correlated with having a Clubhouse network. Longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the relationship between quality and benefits of peer support.

Moodling through: the virtual world of the palliative medicine trainee

BackgroundTrainees in Palliative Medicine in the Mersey Deanery require experience of a variety of work settings during training which leads to them being scattered within the region. Some services have...

Challenges to nurse prescribers of a no‐antibiotic prescribing strategy for managing self‐limiting respiratory tract infections

To report a qualitative study of the experiences of nurse prescribers in managing patients with self-limiting respiratory tract infections. Patients frequently attend primary care with respiratory tract infections. Although a no-prescribing strategy is recommended for these consultations, general practitioners frequently prescribe antibiotics, citing non-clinical reasons such as patient pressure. Nurses increasingly manage people with respiratory tract infections, but research has not yet explored their experiences within such consultations. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Fifteen semi-structured interviews and three focus groups (n=5, n=4, and n=12) with a purposive sample of nurse prescribers (n=34) and other non-medical prescribers (n=2) were conducted between November 2009-November 2010. A qualitative approach was used to develop conceptual categories from the dataset, and emerging themes were explored in subsequent interviews/focus groups. Although participants reported experiencing numerous challenges within these consultations, they believed that they possessed some of the communication skills to deal effectively with patients without prescribing antibiotics. Participants reported that protocols supported their decision-making and welcomed the benefits of peer support in dealing with 'demanding' patients. However, the newness of nurses and other non-medical prescribers to the prescribing role meant that some were cautious in dealing with patients with respiratory tract infections. Training for nurses and other non-medical prescribers should focus on building their confidence and skills to manage people with respiratory tract infections without recourse to antibiotics. Further work should seek to explore which strategies are most effective in managing respiratory tract infections while maintaining patient satisfaction with care.

Multidisciplinary Team Approach for a Peer-Support based Cardiac-Diabetes Self-Management Program

Background: Cardiac patients with diabetes are at higher readmission rates (22%) compared to only 6% for those patients without diabetes. Evidence shows benefits of peer support and using information technology to improve chronic illness and achieve better health outcomes. However limited evidence suggests that cardiac or diabetes self-management programs incorporating peer supporters (patients with similar conditions) or telephone and text-messaging, have improved health outcomes and reduce health care utilisations. A multidisciplinary research team approach is crucial to accommodate the complex aspects of delivering intervention programs for these at-risk patients. However, challenges such as the inconsistency in significance of key concepts across research fields, as well as practical and operational issues within different contexts are often experienced. Aims: To develop an effective multidisciplinary team approach to deliver a peer support based cardiac-diabetes self-management program incorporating the preparation of lay personnel to provide telephone and text-messaging follow up support. Methods: The approach was used for a multidisciplinary project using randomised controlled trial. Results: The findings from multidisciplinary team approach reveal the feasibility of a Peer support based cardiac-diabetes self-management program.

Benefits of Peer Support in Online Japanese Breast Cancer Communities: Differences Between Lurkers and Posters

BackgroundWeb 2.0 has improved interactions among peers on the Internet, especially for the many online patient communities that have emerged over the past decades. Online communities are said to be particularly beneficial peer support resources for patients with breast cancer. However, most studies of online patient communities have focused on those members who post actively (posters), even though there are many members who participate without posting (lurkers). In addition, little attention has been paid to the usage of online communities among non-English-speaking patients.ObjectiveThe present study explored the differences in peer support received by lurkers and posters in online breast cancer communities. It also examined the effects of such support on both groups’ mental health.MethodsWe conducted an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional, Web-based survey among members of four Japanese online breast cancer communities. In an online questionnaire, we asked questions regarding sociodemographics, disease-related characteristics, mental health, participation in online communities, and peer support received from those communities.ResultsOf the 465 people who accessed the questionnaire, 253 completed it. Of the respondents, 113/220 (51.4%) were lurkers. There was no significant difference between lurkers and posters with regard to sociodemographic variables. About half of the posters had been given a diagnosis of breast cancer less than a year previously, which was a significantly shorter period than that of the lurkers (P = .02). The 5 support functions extracted by factor analysis were the same for both posters and lurkers. These were emotional support/helper therapy, emotional expression, conflict, advice, and insight/universality. When the support scores were calculated, insight/universality scored highest for both posters and lurkers, with scores that were not significantly different between the two groups. Among the 5 support scores, emotional support/helper therapy and emotional expression were significantly higher among posters. For posters, emotional support/helper therapy and advice were negatively correlated with the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Emotional expression, advice, and insight/universality were negatively correlated with the anxiety subscale for lurkers.ConclusionWe found that posters felt they received more benefits from online communities than lurkers did, including emotional support, helping other patients, and expressing their emotions. Yet even lurkers were found to gain a certain amount of peer support through online communities, especially with regard to advice and insight/universality. The results demonstrate that participation in online communities—even as a lurker—may be beneficial to breast cancer patients’ mental health.

Facilitated Peer Support in Breast Cancer

Peer support programs are associated with the provision of emotional, informational, and appraisal support. The benefits of peer support for women with breast cancer include reduced social isolation, enhanced coping, and access to information. The aim of this study was to conduct a pre- and post-program evaluation of a 7-week facilitated breast cancer peer support program in a cancer support house. Women with primary breast cancer (n = 8) participated in pre- and post-program focus groups. The interviews were recorded and were transcribed verbatim by the researcher. The data were analyzed using content analysis. Eight themes were identified. The key themes emerging from the pre and post programme focus groups included: The need for mutual identification; Post-treatment isolation; Help with moving on; The impact of hair loss; Consolidation of information; Enablement/empowerment; The importance of the cancer survivor; Mutual sharing. It is essential that facilitated peer support programs are tailored to meet the support needs of women with breast cancer. There is a particular need to facilitate mutual sharing and support for hair loss within these programs. Implications for practice emerging from this study include the importance of pre- and post-program evaluations in identifying whether peer support programs meet the expectations of women with breast cancer, the need for peer/professional programs to support women with treatment-induced hair loss, the importance of including cancer survivors in support programs, and the need to allow more informal sharing to occur in facilitated peer support programs.

Perceived Sources of Support of Adult Burn Survivors

The long-term effects of burn injuries can be devastating and last a lifetime. The aims of this study were to: (1) identify what factors adult burn survivors report as important during their burn recovery, (2) identify the frequency and reported benefits of peer support for burn survivors, (3) determine the difference in the level of reported hope among burn survivors who received peer support compared with survivors who did not receive peer support. A total of 117 adult burn survivors participated in this descriptive study and 87.8% reported family support as very important to their recovery, with 65% rating the burn team members as very important and 60.7% rated speaking to another burn survivor as very important to their recovery. Ninety-two percent found speaking to another burn survivor to be helpful and 96.6% would recommend that a newly injured burn patient speak with someone who has been through the recovery process of a burn injury. The t test scores for the two groups reflected the following: the group who received peer support (N=87) and the group who did not (N=28) showed a statistical significance for the Pathway Subscale [t=-2.197 (P=.030)] and the Total Hope Score [t=-1.971 and (P=<.050)]. The results of this survey suggest that there are perceived benefits of peer support and imply that peer support may have a positive impact on hope for burn survivors.

Adjusting to Life After Esophagectomy: The Experience of Survivors and Carers

Following surgery for esophageal cancer, patients can experience complex physical, social, and emotional changes. Investigation of these challenges, particularly from the perspective of the patient and his or her carer, has been limited. The current study explored the emotional and cognitive experiences of esophageal cancer survivors and those of their carers, using focus groups conducted with members of a patient support group. Analysis of the patients' data yielded three themes: coping with a death sentence, adjusting to and accepting an altered self, and the unique benefits of peer support. Analysis of the carers' data also yielded three themes: the carer as buffer, representations of recovery and recurrence, and normalizing experiences through peer support. Esophageal cancer patients and their carers require holistic support in their efforts to adjust to the social, emotional, and physical consequences of esophagectomy. Peers could be an effective channel for the support of patients and carers.

Addressing the Challenges Faced by Early Adolescents: A Mixed‐Method Evaluation of the Benefits of Peer Support

In this article, we describe a mixed-methods study used to examine the effectiveness of a widely-used peer support program designed to facilitate the transition to adolescence and high school by enhancing self-concept and other desirable outcomes. For the quantitative component, a longitudinal design was employed (930 Grade 7 students, 3 schools, 2 years), with control group and baseline (i.e., pre-program) data against which to compare the effects. Using a multilevel approach, the results provide evidence to suggest that the program was largely successful in achieving its aims of enhancing students' school self-concept, school citizenship, sense of self and possibility, connectedness, and resourcefulness. A sub-sample of students from the experimental group participated in the qualitative component, which included open-ended survey results (n = 408 Grade 7 students, n = 75 peer support leaders) and focus groups (n = 119 Grade 7 students, n = 44 peer support leaders) to identify students' personal perspectives of the program. The qualitative results confirmed the quantitative findings that the program has important benefits for Grade 7 students and provided rich and valuable insights into students' views of the intervention. The findings of this research have important implications and suggest that the provision of peer support has the potential to a make significant contribution to schools' efforts to orchestrate positive outcomes for adolescents.

Cross-cultural and international adaptation of peer support for diabetes management

Peer support may improve self-management among the millions of people with diabetes around the world. A major challenge to international promotion of peer support is allowing for tailoring to population, cultural, health system and other features of specific settings, while also ensuring congruence with standards for what peer support entails. One strategy to address this challenge was used in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Diabetes Initiative. Key functions of self-management-Resources and Supports for Self-Management-were identified. Individual programmes were then encouraged to implement these resources and support in ways that were feasible in their settings and responsive to the needs and perspectives of those they serve. Extending this to peer support, three Key functions are (i) assistance in managing and living with diabetes in daily life; (ii) social and emotional support and (iii) linkage to clinical care. International promotion may be advanced by emphasizing these key functions and then encouraging local variation in the specific ways they are addressed. Similarly, evaluation of the general benefits of peer support across several individual programmes may rest on measurement of implementation of the key functions, participants' reports of receipt of them and common end points. Challenges to promoting peer support include integrating peers amidst others in the health care system, harmonizing peers with family and other social networks, maintaining the engagement of peer supporters and those they assist and preventing training, quality improvement and professionalism from distorting the fundamental benefits of support from a peer.