Examining the Impact of a Peer-Led Group Program for Veteran Engagement and Well-Being

Abstract

Objectives: Veterans often suffer from multiple chronic illnesses, including mental health disorders, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The improvement of engagement in their own health care is critical for enhanced well-being and overall health. Peer-led group programs may be an important tool to provide support and skill development. We conducted a pilot study to explore the impact of a peer-led group-based program that teaches Veterans to become empowered to engage in their own health and well-being through mindful awareness practices, self-care strategies, and setting life goals.Design: Surveys were collected before and immediately after participation in the Taking Charge of My Life and Health (TCMLH) peer-led group program.Settings/location: Sessions were held in non-clinical settings within a VA medical center in the Midwest. Subjects: Our sample comprised 48 Veteran participants who were enrolled in TCMLH and completed a pretest and post-test survey.Intervention: TCMLH is a 9-week peer-led group program with an established curriculum that leverages the power of peer support to improve patient engagement, empowerment, health, and well-being among Veterans through Whole Health concepts, tools, and strategies. Programs were led by 1 of 12 trained Veteran peer facilitators.Outcome measures: Program impact on Veteran well-being was assessed by pre-post measures, including the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Scale (PROMIS-10), the Perceived Health Competency Scale (PHCS), and the Life Engagement Test (LET).Results: There was a significant decrease in perceived stress (PSS score). Significant improvements were also seen in mental health and quality of life (PROMIS-10), participant accordance with the statement ''I have a lot of reasons for living'' (LET), and patient engagement (PAM score).Conclusions: As the Whole Health movement expands-both in VA and elsewhere-our findings suggest that guiding patients in an exploration of their personal values and life goals can help in key areas of patient engagement and mental and physical health outcomes. Further study is warranted, and expansion of the TCMLH program will allow for a more rigorous evaluation with a larger sample size.

Achieving Whole Health: A Preliminary Study of TCMLH, a Group-Based Program Promoting Self-Care and Empowerment Among Veterans

“…TCMLH was designed to be a peer-led group program, ideally facilitated by veterans who are nonclinical staff or volunteers (Abadi, Barker, et al, 2020; Abadi, Drake, et al, 2020). However, each VA site has unique needs and contexts that require flexibility; thus, staff with a variety of roles, volunteers, and those who are and are not veterans, are eligible to serve as facilitators.…”

Transforming Health and Resiliency Through Integration of Values-based Experiences: Implementation of an Electronic Evidence-based Whole Health Clinical Program

“…An organizational cultural transformation is imperative for adoption of innovative programs such as THRIVE [ 7 , 22 , 23 ]. THRIVE gained popular support and adoption by clinical teams, administration, and veterans.…”

“…The urgent need for improved pain and mental health management coupled with veteran demand resulted in the VA Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) mandate in Subtitle C of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) [ 6 ]. In a strategic responsive effort, the VA has implemented a systematic effort to promote patient-centered care through the implementation of a Whole Health System program (WH) of care [ 7 ].…”

National Implementation of a Group-Based Program Promoting Patient Engagement and Peer Support in the Veterans Health Administration: A Multi-Methods Evaluation

“…Veterans that have participated in TCMLH report decreased levels of perceived stress, and experience improvements in patient activation, self-care attitudes/beliefs, health goal progress, and quality of life. Feedback from stakeholders revealed the need for program adaptations to support adoption and reach [ 15 , 20 ]. The original curriculum was designed to be delivered via weekly, in-person sessions over 9 weeks.…”

“…Notably, the shift to telehealth required changes to TCMLH facilitator delivery, more robust technical support, and leveraging standardized telehealth technology in a manner that was amenable to group-based delivery and peer support [ 21 ]. Additional details related to TCMLH are published elsewhere [ 15 , 20 , 22 ].…”