The Feasibility of a Training Program for Peers with Severe Mental Illness to Provide One-to-One Services in Taiwan: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: In Taiwan, services provided by patients’ peers in the mental health care system are still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a community setting model by a training program for severe mental illness (SMI) patients’ peers that also have SMI in Taiwan. Method: This training program comprised of 13-h lectures, 15-h practice classes, and an eight-week internship. In 2018 and 2019, the trainees provided one-to-one services to service users with SMI during the internship at a halfway house. The satisfaction and outcomes among all participants were measured in this training course. Results: The total mean satisfaction score in the training course for trainees (10 items, n = 13) and internship services for service users (12 items, n = 29) were 4.7 ± 0.4 and 4.6 ± 0.5, respectively. Among the trainees, 11 demonstrated improved Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-18 (BPRS-18), Chinese Health Questionnaire-12 (CHQ-12), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores after the whole training course. Among the 29 service users, their scores in the BPRS-18 and CHQ-12 decreased, whereas their scores in the GAF increased significantly under the internship service. Conclusion: In this pilot study, the trainees and service users who received internship services felt satisfied. The service providers and users with SMI both showed better clinical outcomes.

Developing a peer-led intervention to promote COVID-19 testing in low-income housing settings

“…Peer-led interventions extend community-based participatory research to highlight the expertise of community members by including them in conducting interventions to improve community health (4). They can range from those in which peers primarily are involved in delivering interventions to those in which academic and community members work in partnership throughout the research process and across specific projects (5)(6)(7). Ross et al noted in 2010 the need for trust to develop over time so that an environment is created in which each partner is willing to make temporary concessions to produce a long-term collaborative relationship [(4), pp.…”

“…To date, peer-led interventions have been applied in a variety of arenas and settings, from increasing empathy and self-efficacy among medical students to training peers to provide one-on-one services to persons with serious mental illness (5,6). Results of these interventions, often measured pre-and post-intervention, largely have been favorable.…”