The impact of working as a peer worker in mental health services: a longitudinal mixed methods study

Abstract

Background Peer workers are increasingly employed in mental health services to use their own experiences of mental distress in supporting others with similar experiences. While evidence is emerging of the benefits of peer support for people using services, the impact on peer workers is less clear. There is a lack of research that takes a longitudinal approach to exploring impact on both employment outcomes for peer workers, and their experiences of working in the peer worker role. Methods In a longitudinal mixed methods study, 32 peer workers providing peer support for discharge from inpatient to community mental health care - as part of a randomised controlled trial - undertook in-depth qualitative interviews conducted by service user researchers, and completed measures of wellbeing, burnout, job satisfaction and multi-disciplinary team working after completing training, and four and 12 months into the role. Questionnaire data were summarised and compared to outcomes for relevant population norms, and changes in outcomes were analysed using paired t-tests. Thematic analysis and interpretive workshops involving service user researchers were used to analysis interview transcripts. A critical interpretive synthesis approach was used to synthesise analyses of both datasets. Results For the duration of the study, all questionnaire outcomes were comparable with population norms for health professionals or for the general population. There were small-to-medium decreases in wellbeing and aspects of job satisfaction, and increase in burnout after 4 months, but these changes were largely not maintained at 12 months. Peer workers felt valued, empowered and connected in the role, but could find it challenging to adjust to the demands of the job after initial optimism. Supervision and being part of a standalone peer worker team was supportive, although communication with clinical teams could be improved. Conclusions Peer workers seem no more likely to experience negative impacts of working than other healthcare professionals but should be well supported as they settle into post, provided with in-work training and support around job insecurity. Research is needed to optimise working arrangements for peer workers alongside clinical teams.

Assessing Mental Healthcare Worker Experiences of Workplace Fairness and Organizational Value: A National Survey of Peer-Support Specialists

“…Recent studies have shown that healthcare workers feeling valued by their organizations had lower odds of experiencing stress, anxiety, and burnout, as well as higher reported engagement at work (Haizlip et al, 2020; Prasad et al, 2021; Teo et al, 2021). Findings from multiple studies have highlighted the importance of developing mutual respect and supportive relationships between peer-support specialists and clinicians in increasing workplace satisfaction (Agarwal et al, 2020; Firmin et al, 2019; Gillard et al, 2022). Although literature on potential interventions is limited, some agencies, such as the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, have developed training toolkits to better integrate peer staff in the workplace (Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities Services & Achara Consulting, 2017).…”

Implementing peer support in higher education: A feasibility study

“…We conducted a longitudinal, multi-method evaluation study to follow the development and piloting of the peer support intervention between June 2021 and May 2022, drawing on methods used in recent studies of mental health services ( Gillard et al., 2022 ). We collected data from three participant groups: 1) the Core Implementation Team (CIT) were three managers from the student union, the intervention's programme manager, and a university student, 2) peer workers, who were students in the university delivering the intervention, 3) and students at the university (i.e., the client group).…”

“…Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) was used to interpret the findings together. CIS has been applied widely to mixed method reviews and other peer support studies ( Gillard et al., 2022 ; McFerran et al., 2016 ). CIS involves tabulating all findings, then developing a set of propositions from these findings through a process of induction.…”

Boas práticas e desafios na atenção à saúde de pessoas em situação de rua

“…Nos cuidados de HIV em particular, existem estratégias padronizadas de apoio de pares com base em duas décadas de pesquisa. Na área da saúde mental, por outro lado, temos evidências crescentes dos benefícios do trabalho com pares (Peer Support Workers), indicando uma melhora significativa nos atendidos especialmente na visão de si mesmo, do processo de recuperação e no senso de empoderamento para as pessoas que receberam apoio de pares em comparação com os cuidados habitual (13) .…”