Informal Peer Support Research Articles

Peer support as a bridge for participation in prison activities and services: A qualitative study with foreign national prisoners

This paper investigates the role of informal peer support as a bridge for participation by foreign national prisoners in prison activities (e.g. education, work, sports activities, library) and services (e.g. psychologist, doctor). A total of 51 individual interviews, following an appreciative inquiry perspective, were conducted with foreign nationals in four prisons in Flanders (Belgium). In terms of leading foreign nationals to prison activities and services, the findings reveal four types of informal peer support: informational support, instrumental support, emotional support, and social companionship. Moreover, during participation in these prison activities and services, three types of informal peer support emerged: informational support, instrumental support, and social companionship. Peer support seems to be a ‘form of survival’ for foreign nationals to overcome barriers experienced in accessing prison activities and services and difficulties during participation in such prison activities and services.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Adults and Children With Severe Respiratory Failure


 This review used a framework analysis to synthesize 9 included studies on the perspectives and experiences of patients, family members, and providers on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
 Patients’ perspectives on their experiences are limited due to their sedated status when treated with ECMO.
 Supporting a relative treated with ECMO is stressful for family members. They feel anxious and worried about their relative because of the patient’s critical condition, and they struggle to juggle multiple roles at work and home while supporting their relative receiving ECMO.
 Family members often have to travel to see their critically ill relative. Financial and logistical support for temporary relocation near the ECMO centre may ease the burden of travel.
 Family members benefit from clear and frequent communication from health care providers as a source of support and reassurance while their loved ones are being treated with ECMO. There may be a role for informal or formal peer support for family members of patients receiving ECMO.
 Clinicians’ decisions to offer, continue, and withdraw ECMO are based on their assessments of prognostic factors from patients’ medical histories and clinical conditions. Additional clinical research and/or refinements of prognostic guidance for ECMO may further support evidence-informed decision-making around ECMO.
 Patients, family members, and clinical team members may differ in their assessment of the limits of ECMO treatment and the decision to transition from active treatment to the withdrawal of life support. These findings point to the role of ethical considerations and processes when engaging in transitioning to end-of-life support in the provision of ECMO.
 After discharge, patients who had received ECMO and their family members continued to have feelings of anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and a need to process the event. ECMO programs that can offer continued or ongoing support or referral for patients and their family members’ mental health may help address these needs.

Peer Support as a Tool for Community Care: “Nothing About Us, Without Us”

In the face of socio-political marginalization, frontline communities reclaim power by harnessing peer wisdom and resilience. The year 2020 marked the confluence of a global pandemic and widespread resistance against anti-Black racism and police violence, highlighting the value of peer voices and community perspectives. To dismantle and transcend carceral approaches to community care, the field of social work is invited to join a larger anti-carceral mental health movement that honors lived experience and works alongside peers to build identity-affirming structures of mental health care. This article examines the ways in which frontline communities benefit from expanded access to anti-carceral formal and informal peer support as a mental health safety net that interrupts harm and prioritizes agency, consent, and self-determination. This paper broadens social work’s conceptualization of peer support through theoretical frameworks of anti-carceral social work, abolition, and intersectionality. Social work and its adjacent fields are called to urgently center Black liberation, collective healing, and community care by advocating for the integration of formal and informal peer support into mental health policy and practice. This paper strategically leans into a lineage of critical peer thought scholarship by utilizing footnotes and citations to model the ethical acknowledgment of peer labor within human rights movements. This intentional structure promotes radical solidarity that resists the exploitation of people with lived experience.

Screening and referral is not enough: a qualitative exploration of barriers to access and uptake of mental health services in patients with cardiovascular diseases

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases (CVD) are commonly comorbid with mental health disorders, portending poorer cardiac prognosis. Despite the high prevalence of depression and anxiety, and guidelines recommending routine depression screening and referral, uptake of mental healthcare in CVD populations remains low. Reasons for the underutilisation of mental health and psychological services for this population remain largely unknown.MethodsThirteen CVD patients with clinically significant psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety and/or stress) participated in one-on-one in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsBarriers to uptake included the timing of referral and screening, with patients reporting a need for longer term follow-up. A lack of information provision and understanding around mental health and services, especially following cardiac-events were further barriers. A reluctance to report mental health or engage in services was also identified, with patients indicating a preference for informal peer support networks. A range of practical barriers such as mobility, transport and cost were also reported.ConclusionsLonger term follow-up and routine mental health assessment may be beneficial to facilitate use of mental health services. Upskilling of practitioners around mental health may be a further avenue to promote information provision and enhance service use. Further focus on enhancing informal peer support may be a valuable initial approach for the CVD population. The implications for improving services and enhancing service use are discussed.

Online and Recovery-Oriented Support Groups Facilitated by Peer Support Workers in Times of COVID-19: Protocol for a Feasibility Pre-Post Study.

BackgroundIn times of pandemics, social distancing, isolation, and quarantine have precipitated depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. Scientific literature suggests that patients living with mental health problems or illnesses (MHPIs) who interact with peer support workers (PSWs) experience not only the empathy and connectedness that comes from similar life experiences but also feel hope in the possibility of recovery. So far, it is the effect of mental health teams or programs with PSWs that has been evaluated.ObjectiveThis paper presents the protocol for a web-based intervention facilitated by PSWs. The five principal research questions are whether this intervention will have an impact in terms of (Q1) personal-civic recovery and (Q2) clinical recovery, (Q3) how these recovery potentials can be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, (Q4) how the lived experience of persons in recovery can be mobilized to cope with such a situation, and (Q5) how sex and gender considerations can be taken into account for the pairing of PSWs with service users beyond considerations based solely on psychiatric diagnoses or specific MHPIs. This will help us assess the impact of PSWs in this setting.MethodsPSWs will lead a typical informal peer support group within the larger context of online peer support groups, focusing on personal-civic recovery. They will be scripted with a fixed, predetermined duration (a series of 10 weekly 90-minute online workshops). There will be 2 experimental subgroups—patients diagnosed with (1) psychotic disorders (n=10) and (2) anxiety or mood disorders (n=10)—compared to a control group (n=10). Random assignment to the intervention and control arms will be conducted using a 2:1 ratio. Several instruments will be used to assess clinical recovery (eg, the Recovery Assessment Scale, the Citizenship Measure questionnaire). The COVID-19 Stress Scales will be used to assess effects in terms of clinical recovery and stress- or anxiety-related responses to COVID-19. Changes will be compared between groups from baseline to endpoint in the intervention and control groups using the Student paired sample t test.ResultsThis pilot study was funded in March 2020. The protocol was approved on June 16, 2020, by the Research Ethics Committees of the Montreal Mental Health University Institute. Recruitment took place during the months of July and August, and results are expected in December 2020.ConclusionsStudy results will provide reliable evidence on the effectiveness of a web-based intervention provided by PSWs. The investigators, alongside key decision makers and patient partners, will ensure knowledge translation throughout, and our massive open online course (MOOC), The Fundamentals of Recovery, will be updated with the evidence and new knowledge generated by this feasibility study.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04445324; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04445324International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/22500

Exploring the Distressing Events and Perceptions of Support Experienced by Rural and Remote Nurses: A Thematic Analysis of National Survey Data.

Exposure to traumatic events is an occupational hazard with potential adverse psychological consequences. Previous research has focused mainly on urban practice settings; therefore, this study explored the distressing experiences encountered by rural/remote nurses and their perception of organizational support. Thematic analyses were conducted on open-ended data from a pan-Canadian survey of 3,822 regulated nurses, where 1,222 nurses (32%) reported experiencing an extremely distressing health care incident within the past 2 years. Among the respondents, 804 nurses (65%) reported that they did not receive psychological support from the organizations leadership following incidents. Three main themes regarding distressing events were: (a) involvement in profound events of death/dying, traumatic injury and loss, (b) experiencing or witnessing severe violence and/or aggression, and (c) failure to rescue or protect patients/clients. Three themes were identified regarding perceptions of organizational support including: (a) feeling well supported in the work setting with debriefing and reliance on informal peer support, (b) lack of acknowledgement and support from leaders on the nature and impact of distressing events, and (c) barriers influencing access to adequate mental health services in rural/remote settings. Findings suggest that rural/remote nurses rely on informal, peer supports; there is a lack of organizational understanding of the potential risks to their psychosocial health and safety. They require more accessible, structured, appropriate, and timely supports within these settings. Increased understanding of the psychological hazards will assist organizations to establish workplace policies and practices designed to protect and support rural/remote nurses.

Informal carers and peer support in pulmonary rehabilitation: an underutilized resource?

The aim of this review is to discuss the recent literature relating to the involvement of informal carers and peer support in pulmonary rehabilitation. Informal carers and peer support have been identified by both patients and healthcare workers as a crucial component in the care of those with chronic respiratory disease at home. Pulmonary rehabilitation, a cornerstone in the management of patients with breathlessness, is limited in its clinical effectiveness by poor referral, uptake and completion rates. Engagement of informal carers and support from peers may help maximize the utilization of pulmonary rehabilitation. This review highlights the need for more good-quality randomized controlled trials in identifying suitable interventions that may increase uptake and completion of pulmonary rehabilitation programmes. Qualitative studies have highlighted the potential for informal carers and peer support to play a key role in the design of research programmes, and in the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation. This needs to be addressed in future research.

'I never realised everybody felt as happy as I do when I am around autistic people': A thematic analysis of autistic adults' relationships with autistic and neurotypical friends and family.

Many autistic people are motivated to have friends, relationships and close family bonds, despite the clinical characterisation of autism as a condition negatively affecting social interaction. Many first-hand accounts of autistic people describe feelings of comfort and ease specifically with other autistic people. This qualitative research explored and contrasted autistic experiences of spending social time with neurotypical and autistic friends and family. In total, 12 autistic adults (10 females, aged 21–51) completed semi-structured interviews focused on time spent with friends and family; positive and negative aspects of time spent with neurotypical and autistic friends and family; and feelings during and after spending time together. Three themes were identified: cross-neurotype understanding, minority status and belonging. Investigation of these themes reveals the benefits of autistic people creating and maintaining social relationships with other autistic people, in a more systematic way than previous individual reports. They highlight the need for autistic-led social opportunities and indicate benefits of informal peer support for autistic adults.Lay abstractAlthough autistic people may struggle to interact with others, many autistic people have said they find interacting with other autistic people more comfortable. To find out whether this was a common experience, we did hour-long interviews with 12 autistic adults. We asked them questions about how it feels when spending time with their friends and family, and whether it felt different depending on whether the friends and family were autistic or neurotypical. We analysed the interviews and found three common themes in what our participants said. First, they found spending with other autistic people easier and more comfortable than spending time with neurotypical people, and felt they were better understood by other autistic people. Second, autistic people often felt they were in a social minority, and in order to spend time with neurotypical friends and family, they had to conform with what the neurotypical people wanted and were used to. Third, autistic people felt like they belonged with other autistic people and that they could be themselves around them. These findings show that having time with autistic friends and family can be very beneficial for autistic people and played an important role in a happy social life.

When resuscitation doesn’t work: A qualitative study examining ambulance personnel preparation and support for termination of resuscitation and patient death

BackgroundMany ambulance personnel can withhold or terminate resuscitation on-scene, but these decisions are emotionally, ethically and cognitively challenging. Although there is a wealth of research examining training and performance of life-saving resuscitation efforts, there is little published research examining how ambulance personnel are prepared and supported for situations where resuscitation is unsuccessful, unwanted or unwarranted. AimTo identify and describe existing preparation and support mechanisms for ambulance personnel enacting decisions to terminate resuscitation and manage patient death in the field. MethodFocus groups were held with senior ambulance personnel working in clinical education and peer support roles. ResultsParticipants believed professional and personal exposure to death and dying and positive social modelling by mentors were essential preparation for ambulance personnel terminating resuscitation and managing patient death. Ambulance personnel responded to patient death idiosyncratically. Key supports included on-scene or phone back-up during the event and informal peer and managerial support after the event. ConclusionClinical and life experience is highly-valued by ambulance personnel who provide training and support. However, novice ambulance personnel may benefit from greater awareness and rehearsal of skills associated with terminating resuscitation and managing the scene of a patient death. Organisations need to acknowledge idiosyncratic staff needs and offer a variety of support mechanisms both during and after the event.

Resilience of auxiliary nurses providing nursing care to patients with intellectual disabilities at a public mental healthcare institution.

BackgroundAlthough mental health is regarded by the International Council of Nurses as a very important element of wellness, healthcare to patients with intellectual disabilities still remains neglected and under-resourced in most societies. Auxiliary nurses are crucial in providing nursing care to patients with intellectual disabilities. These nurses may not be prepared to handle challenges in providing nursing care to these patients, but their resilience can help them to manage these challenges. Limited research is available with regard to the resilience of auxiliary nurses providing nursing care to patients with intellectual disabilities.ObjectivesTo explore and describe the perceptions of auxiliary nurses providing nursing care to patients with intellectual disabilities on their resilience and protective mechanisms and vulnerability factors that influence their resilience when providing nursing care to these patients.MethodA qualitative, descriptive inquiry approach was used. The population comprised approximately 220 auxiliary nurses providing nursing care to patients with intellectual disabilities at a mental healthcare institution. Auxiliary nurses were selected through purposive sampling with the assistance of a mediator. The sample size was determined by data saturation. The data were collected through four focus group interviews with altogether 32 participants.ResultsFive main themes emerged from the data. Practical wisdom was applied by the participants. They also made use of different forms of interactions, including the application of strategies such as utilising induction programmes and being willing to learn, in order to remain resilient. Protective mechanisms and vulnerability factors influence their resilience.ConclusionsRecommendations to strengthen the resilience of auxiliary nurses caring for patients with intellectual disabilities were formulated from the research findings, including recommendations for nursing practice, education and nursing research. Informal peer support, as well as addressing ethical issues, improving nurse–patient communication, training to handle adverse working conditions, and continuing education and further research on the practical wisdom of auxiliary nurses, is recommended.

A Co/Autoethnography of Peer Support and PhDs: Being, Doing, and Sharing in Academia

As doctoral students, we were well aware of the social, cultural, and economic isolation experienced by many students working towards a PhD. In this paper, we provide an account of an informal peer support model that assisted us to successfully complete our PhDs. We used co/autoethnography to write into each other’s story, seeking to improve our research practice through creative reflection. Data included over 215 emails generated through our “weekly check-ins” during our PhDs, for a period of over 18 months. Following the iterative nature of co/autoethnography, we generated further data through collaborative analysis and reflexive, creative writing. Analysis involved each of us conducting inductive analysis of the data separately, followed by a collaborative process of checking and co-identifying themes, and collaborative writing of the co/autoethnography. We identified three major themes in the data: Being an Academic, Doing Academia, and Sharing in Academia. We continue to transform through the co/autoethnography and lay bare our experience of peer support for the purpose of supporting others undertaking a PhD, including ways to approach writing (or support writing), and ways to navigate the corporate university setting.

Not All Managers Are Managerial: A Self-Evaluation of Women Middle-Managers’ Experiences in a UK University

The focus of this small-scale self-evaluation is the implementation of a new middle-management role in a post-92 UK university. A realist appreciative inquiry was undertaken with five women who had been promoted to a middle-management role 18 months prior to the inquiry. This evaluation for knowledge offered an opportunity to reflect on experiences in practice and sought to understand the experiences of the women in this role and how they cope with the challenges middle-management brings. Particular challenges (instability-generating) accorded with existing literature and included: lack of role clarity, lack of pre-preparation for management role, colleagues’ views of management, including perceptions of women in management roles and malicious intent of managed academics in rare cases. Supportive factors (provisional-stability-generating) included: personal resilience, informal peer support, external support and reflection. The co-evaluators offered reflections for the future from this co-evaluation. These suggest that training may contribute to provisional-stability in role and should be considered for new entrants to middle-management. The alternative construct of humanistic management is proposed as a way of understanding these women’s values-based decision-making practices in complex situations.

"Imagine if I'm not here, what they're going to do?"-Health-care access and culturally and linguistically diverse women in prison.

BackgroundWomen in prison have complex medical needs and poorer health status than the general population. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women in prison, particularly those with limited English proficiency (LEP), have distinct needs and risk additional isolation, discrimination and marginalization when they are in prison.ObjectiveWe sought to examine how cultural and linguistic diversity, particularly LEP, affects the health‐care experiences of women in prison.Design, Setting and ParticipantsWe conducted focus groups and semi‐structured qualitative interviews with CALD women and frontline nursing staff in the three female Correctional Centres in New South Wales, Australia.ResultsParticipants comprised 30 women in prison and nine nurses. Both women and staff reported communication difficulties as a significant and additional barrier to accessing and receiving health care. For some women with LEP, barriers to care were perceived as discrimination. Fellow prisoners were often utilized as support persons and informal interpreters (“peer interpreters”) in place of formally trained interpreters. While peer interpreters were perceived as useful, potential challenges to their use were vulnerability to coercion, loss of confidentiality, untrained health advice and errors of interpretation.ConclusionThe persistent use of peer interpreters in prison is complicated by the lack of clearly defined roles, which can include informal peer support roles and lay health advice. These are highly complex roles for which they are unlikely to be adequately trained or supported, despite perceived benefits to their use. Improved understanding and facilitation of health‐related communication could enhance equity of access for CALD women in prison.

Clinical Nutrition

Background Patients compare and discuss their treatment regimens with other patients to obtain informal peer support. (1) A social comparison model (2) suggests these behaviours involve making comparisons to other patient's dietary behaviours to obtain feedback on the success of their own dietary behaviours. The result of this comparison can either enhance or lower self-esteem, depending on how the person perceives their situation. A self-enhancement comparison i.e. discounting the other person's behaviour helps maintain positive self-esteem through positive self-talk. A negative comparison will make them feel inferior to the person they have compared themselves too. Social comparison has been studied in obesity and eating disorders.(3) But little exists in renal. It is important to understand how people deal with social interactions around diet as inappropriate renal peer support and dietary advice giving may be detrimental to dietary adherence. Therefore it is important that patients can maintain self-esteem around following their own dietary advice. The aim of this study was to explore informal peer support experiences on self-management of individual dietary recommendations in chronic kidney disease. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews using a free response narrative approach were undertaken with patients with end-stage renal failure on heamodialysis. An interview topic guide, informed by current literature, was used to guide the data collection. Interview questions covered experiences of informal peer support and the affect these had on participants own behaviour around following renal dietary advice. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and underwent interpretative phenomenological analysis (4) within the framework of social comparison theory.(2) Internal peer review, member checking and reflexivity were under taken to increase rigour. UHCW NHS Trust gave ethical approval. Results 12 caucasian adults took part (6 male, 6 female). Themes represented social comparison between patients within the dialysis unit. Patients gradually entered the social more of the “renal family” (Participant 3) when starting hemodialysis. Within this social more; self-enhancement comparisons protected the self by discounting peers incongruent “unsafe” (P6) dietary advice, describing patients who were non-compliant to low potassium advice as being “on rocky ground” (P4). This helped maintain positive self-esteem by “feeling good about my own choices” (P10), identity around food, and food literacy. Peers who undertook positive self-talk were more likely to offer appropriate support to others. These coping strategies and “decent” (P1) peer support maintained defense against well-meant informal peer support by lessening the comparison to “those patients who don't know what they're doing with their diet” (P16). Discussion Positive upwards comparisons helped patients make dietary changes and self-manage their diet as reported in self-restrained eaters. (4) This led to high levels of self-efficacy to cope with renal restrictions and maintained patients’ food literacy. These individuals were more likely to offer appropriate support to others. Downward comparison resulted in individuals feeling their self-efficacy was threatened by negative influences of peers. Limitations to this study include that self-efficacy was not measured, but implied through in-depth descriptions. Conclusion The findings suggest that a formal peer support programme should be explored for renal dietetics. A formal peer support programme may help lessen the anxiety around informal and inappropriate nutritional peer support.

The perspectives of spouses of stroke survivors on self-management – a focus group study

Purpose: This qualitative study explored how stroke survivors’ spouses described their own self-management, their partner’s self-management post-stroke and how they had been supported in developing self-management.Method: Focus group interviews were conducted with 33 spouses of stroke survivors 34–79 years of age. A constant comparative framework was used for the analysis.Result: Stroke also affected the spouses, gave changes in their relationships and challenged in being a caregiver beside being partner. They felt burdened, lonely, sad, and guilty. To manage themselves, many participants created time for themselves. For most spouses, self-management was connoted with co-management because they perceived their partners were not able to manage themselves completely post-stroke. They often felt lost after their partners came home and reported that they learned how to coach their partners post-stroke by trial and error, without much professional support. Moreover, many spouses experienced informal peer support as helpful.Conclusion: Spouses of stroke survivors should be involved as soon as possible in stroke-rehabilitation and continue at home post-discharge. In addition to enhancing the spouses’ skills in caregiving and supporting self-management, stroke survivors’ spouses also need support in their own emotional and role management. Moreover, peers can play a role in rehabilitation post-stroke.Implications for RehabilitationSpouses of stroke survivors should be considered as full participants of stroke-self-management programs to enhance their skills in caregiving and supporting self-management.Stroke survivors’ spouses need support in their own emotional and role management.Peer support can play a role in rehabilitation post-stroke for stroke survivors as well as their spouses.

The Experiences of Young Adults With Hodgkin Lymphoma Transitioning to Survivorship: A Grounded Theory Study.

To explore the experiences of young adults with Hodgkin lymphoma during the first year following the end of initial treatment. . A qualitative grounded theory study. . Interviews with patients recruited from three cancer centers in England. . 10 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors (four men and six women aged 21-39 years) recruited as part of a larger study of 28 young adult cancer survivors. . Semistructured interviews were conducted about two months after treatment completion, and follow-up interviews were conducted seven months later. The authors' grounded theory of positive psychosocial adjustment to cancer provided the conceptual framework. . Positive reframing, informal peer support, acceptance, and normalization helped young adults dismantle the threats of Hodgkin lymphoma during the course of treatment. However, they described losing a sense of security following treatment completion. Greater age-specific information to enable better preparation for the future was desired regarding body image, fertility, sexual relationships, work, and socializing. . Informal support mechanisms, like peer support and patient navigator interventions, may be useful ways to further support young adults after treatment completion. . Positive psychosocial adjustment to cancer survivorship in young adults is facilitated by having informal peer support; being able to positively reframe, accept, and normalize their experience; and being prepared for the future.

New Ways of Creating Capacity

Objective/Hypothesis: We aimed to determine whether an 8-week online training program for developing skills in short course development and delivery was effective in establishing locally driven, sustainable, evidence-based training for Bangladeshi hand therapists. Materials and Methods: Five Bangladeshi therapists from a rehabilitation center participated in the course, which was facilitated online by an Australian university. They completed 8 prerecorded modules over a 3-month period and were assessed in situ on their ability to deliver a hand therapy tutorial to their peers. A qualitative explanatory case study design was used to evaluate outcomes, drawing on data gathered from precourse, postcourse, and 1-year follow-up surveys, observations (including interactions during the course and final participant presentations), and a postcourse focus group. Results: The course achieved 6 of its 9 objectives, with all participants satisfactorily planning and delivering an evidence-based interactive tutorial to their peers. Participants noted improved competence and confidence in searching for evidence, and developing and executing a teaching plan. This was sustained at 1-year review. The key theme was a shift in participants’ concept of learning from being an expert-driven to a self-driven exercise. Enablers were multimodal teaching techniques, the presence of a local leader, and the establishment of informal peer support. Barriers were logistical issues such as access to reliable Internet services, and late delivery of course materials. Conclusions: Online distance education can be effective in producing sustainable change in practitioner skills in developing countries. Future programs would benefit from a blended learning approach incorporating “face-to-face” instructor contact.

A Holistic Understanding of Integrational Support from University Students’ Perspective Through Appreciative Inquiry

Abstract Student integration into the academic community is a primary condition for student success and achievement. This research explores the potential enhancements of supportive activities and key peer facilitator traits to maximize social and academic integration of first year university students. Focus group interviews (n=16) were conducted with first-year students (n=93) coming directly from secondary school. Using Appreciative Inquiry, participants indicate that current informally organized support activities in a university environment during the first semester of the academic year are highly desirable (e.g. welcome activities, extra-curricular activities, co-curricular activities). The need for support in social integration in the beginning of the year and the need for support in academic integration at the end of the first semester clearly arise out of this study. When addressing some specific criteria related to the objectives, form and design, this paper suggests that peer-assisted support activities are particularly useful in increasing sustainable informal peer support and integration among students. This article aims to prompt further discussion on the potential, value and purpose of department-specific structural peer assisted support and peer learning approaches for integration of first year university students.

Using Facebook as a tool for informal peer support: a case example

The social media site (SMS) Facebook can provide social workers with a method to engage in informal peer support. Scholars to date have mainly focused on SMSs such as Facebook as they pertain to clinical interactions with clients, maintaining professionalism especially among social work students, using them for professional or organizational promotion, and using them as an educational tool. Informal peer groups have been found to be an effective tool to combat burnout in high-stress professions such as social work. The use of a SMS such as Facebook for informal peer support could provide additional benefits to social workers beyond what they would experience from offline contact. This article fills a gap in the literature by describing how a group of practicing social workers use a private Facebook group for peer support, informal consultation, emotional support, and personal social connection. Given the continual high rates of job stress and burnout, social workers should consider new and innovative ways to use SMSs such as Facebook to enhance their self-care efforts.

Peer support as a resilience building practice with men

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an evaluation of a community mental health resilience intervention for unemployed men aged 45-60. The focus is on examining the place of facilitated peer support within a multi-dimensional men’s mental health programme, and exploring implications for resilience building delivery approaches for men. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a mixed methodology design involving before and after survey data and qualitative interviews, to report results concerning effectiveness in changing men’s perceived resilience, to consider project processes concerning peer support, and to situate these within wider community environments. Findings – The programme significantly raised the perceived resilience of participants. Project activities promoted trusting informal social connections, gains in social capital arose through trusting relations and skill-sharing, and peer-peer action-focused talk and planning enhanced men’s resilience. Research limitations/implications – The paper considers facilitated peer support on a programme, rather than on-going informal peer support or more formal peer support roles (a limitation reflecting the boundaries of the funded programme). Practical implications – The paper discusses emerging considerations for resilience building, focusing on gender-sensitive approaches which can engage and retain men by focusing on doing and talking. It highlights the importance of peer support in community interventions which feature a social model of change. There is potential for encouraging further peer mentoring and peer led support beyond facilitated peer support in programme delivery. Social implications – Potential exists for gender-aware programmes to sustain salutogenic change, co-producing social assets of peer support, male-friendly activities, and context sensitive course provision. Originality/value – The paper adds fresh evidence of gendered intervention approaches with a specific focus on facilitated community peer support, including effects on male resilience. Little previous resilience research is gendered, there is little gendered research on peer support, and unemployed middle-aged men are a significant risk group.