Lived experience peer support programs for suicide prevention: a systematic scoping review

Abstract

Background: Peer-led support models have gained increasing popularity in suicide prevention. While previous reviews show positive effects of peer-led support for people with mental health problems and those bereaved by suicide, little is known about the types of lived experience peer support programs in suicide prevention and whether these are effective in improving the health and wellbeing of people at risk of suicide. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of peer support programs that aim to reduce suicidality and are led by people with lived experience of suicide. Method: We conducted a systematic scoping review, involving a search of three academic (Medline, PsycINFO, Embase) and selected grey literature databases (Google Scholar, WHO Clinical Trials Registry) for publications between 2000 and 2019. We also contacted suicide prevention experts and relevant internet sites to identify peer support programs that exist but have not been evaluated. The screening of records followed a systematic two-stage process in alignment with PRISMA guidelines. Results: We identified 8 records accounting for 7 programs focussed on peer-led support programs in suicide prevention. These programs employed a range of different designs and included a variety of settings (schools, communities, rural and online). Only 3 of the 7 programs contained data on effectiveness. With the small number of eligible programs the findings from this review are limited and must be interpreted with caution. Conclusions: Despite the increased focus of policymakers on the importance of peer support programs in suicide prevention, our scoping review confirms an evidence gap in research knowledge regarding program design, implementation, and effectiveness. More rigour is required in reporting peer-led support initiatives to clarify the underlying definition of peer support and lived experience and to enhance our understanding of the types of current peer support programs available to those experiencing suicidality. Further, we need formal and high-quality evaluations of peer support suicide prevention programs led by people with lived experience to better understand their effectiveness on participant health across different settings and delivery modalities and to allow for comprehensive systematic reviews and meta-analysis in future.

Barriers and facilitators of peer support work in a large psychiatric hospital: a thematic analysis

“…[2][3][4] These newly minted mental health professionals were eventually integrated into a number of services in various mental healthcare settings, such as to support people with mental health conditions 5 , severe mental illnesses 4 6 and substance use issues. 7 Systematic reviews [8][9][10][11][12] supported these individual findings and demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating peer support workers into larger care teams. As a result of the benefit they bring to multidisciplinary care models, they have been integrated into community mental health teams 13 14 and supported employment teams 15 , where their presence is counted towards increased programme fidelity.…”

What Works in Community-Led Suicide Prevention: Perspectives of Wesley LifeForce Network Coordinators

“…The strong representation of people with lived experience of suicide in the network membership and among network coordinators reflects another unique characteristic of community coalition in the suicide prevention field. The value of lived experience expertise has been increasingly recognised as pivotal to the design and delivery of suicide prevention programs [ 25 , 26 ], and it is evident that LifeForce networks provide an effective means for engaging community members with a lived experience in suicide prevention. Notwithstanding some of these unique features, LifeForce networks also shared many characteristics of community coalitions in the broader health promotion field.…”

Strategies to Stay Alive: Adaptive Toolboxes for Living Well with Suicidal Behavior

“…As noted in the results, four of these participants reported volunteering or working in formal peer-support, in addition to most having utilized either formal or informal peer-support. The research on the effectiveness of peer-support for suicide prevention is surprisingly limited, given the increasing popularity of peer-support [25]. A systematic scoping review by Schlichthorst et al (2020) [25] yielded seven records of eight suicide prevention peer-support programs, and only three of those had evaluations.…”

“…The research on the effectiveness of peer-support for suicide prevention is surprisingly limited, given the increasing popularity of peer-support [25]. A systematic scoping review by Schlichthorst et al (2020) [25] yielded seven records of eight suicide prevention peer-support programs, and only three of those had evaluations. The authors of the review concluded that, while peer-support programs for suicide prevention show promise, there needs to be better evaluation [25].…”