A Systematic Review of the Attributes and Outcomes of Peer Work and Guidelines for Reporting Studies of Peer Interventions

Abstract

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE ATTRIBUTES AND OUTCOMES OF PEER WORK.

Peer support in mental health services: where is the research taking us, and do we want to go there?

“…Those reviews are also at pains to point out that trials of peer support had, hitherto, failed to adequately describe what it is that peer workers do, how that is different from what other mental health workers are doing, and the mechanisms by which peer support brings about change. More recent trials have done a little better in their reporting, and an updated systematic review (King & Bender Simmons, 2018) indicates that peer workers are more likely to be delivering education or mentoring programmes than engaging in a more mutual peer support, often delivering interventions typically offered by clinicians such as case management, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and in some cases supporting medication adherence (Druss et al, 2010;Rosenblum et al, 2014). Bellamy, Schmutte, and Davidson (2017) note that recent trials that are indicative of effectiveness are likely to be evaluating, broadly speaking, some form of 'peer supported self-management' (see also Johnson et al, 2018), wondering, on balance, if this is where development of new peer workers roles in mental health services should be focused.…”

“…Bellamy, Schmutte, and Davidson (2017) note that recent trials that are indicative of effectiveness are likely to be evaluating, broadly speaking, some form of 'peer supported self-management' (see also Johnson et al, 2018), wondering, on balance, if this is where development of new peer workers roles in mental health services should be focused. King and Bender Simmons (2018) find that preference for primary outcome in peer support trials is beginning to focus in on a group of conceptually-related constructs around individual empowerment (e.g. Mahlke et al, 2017).…”

“…We need to pay attention to the values underpinning peer support in both the development of new peer worker roles, and the design and reporting of effectiveness trials-e.g. through more appropriate selection of trial outcome (King & Bender Simmons, 2018) and a valuesdriven approach to measuring intervention fidelity (Gillard et al, 2017)-if we are to avoid limiting the utility of our research to policy and practice. Trials should always be accompanied by high quality process evaluations that seek to better understand how peer support brings about change, and how that is distinctive from other forms of support.…”

Knowledge and expertise in care practices: the role of the peer worker in mental health teams

“…). Recent reviews have indicated the impact of peer support in mental health services on outcomes such as hope, empowerment and self‐rated recovery (King and Bender Simmons , Lloyd‐Evans et al . ), with improved self‐efficacy indicated in newer trials (Mahlke et al .…”

“…The employment of PW by mental health service organisations is increasingly common internationally (Gillard et al 2013). Recent reviews have indicated the impact of peer support in mental health services on outcomes such as hope, empowerment and self-rated recovery (King andBender Simmons 2018, Lloyd-Evans et al 2014), with improved self-efficacy indicated in newer trials (Mahlke et al 2017). Qualitatively, hope and strength of social networks have been explored as important outcomes for people in receipt of support from PW (Walker and Bryant 2013).…”