This article describes peer support for children with a specific long-term condition. It gives a case study of how a programme was set up, piloted and expanded and factors that others may wish to take into account when expanding to provide peer support for children.
This article describes people's experiences of peer support, which may have implications for further improving support programmes.
This article describes a scale for measuring peer support in adults with substance abuse issues.
Understanding the experience of peer support workers may be important in planning ways to mitigate challenges and sustain services. This research documents discussions with peer support workers about their roles.
This set of articles describes a range of approaches to peer support provided by community health workers, lay health advisors, promotores de salud and others. They explore the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, reach and sustainability of peer support for diabetes self-management. Topics include the types of peers to provide support, reaching the seldom reached, success factors in peer support interventions, proactive approaches, attention to emotions, dissemination models and policy implications.
This article provides a formalised case study and the results of how to evaluate a peer support intervention focused on minority ethnic groups. This randomized controlled trial tested a volunteer-based model of peer support for diabetes control.
This study examined the types of people enrolling for a heart failure peer support programme in order to ensure that those designing these programmes can better design a service that meets their target populations needs.
This literature review provides examples of the effectiveness of peer support for mothers with postpartum depression (PPD). Although the results were mixed, they provide insights into how peer support volunteers can be an innovative part of a team approach to PPD intervention. The examples provided are brief.
This article describes the potential barriers to peer workers and ways that organisations can overcome these challenges. The paper describes findings from a study on the levers and barriers to the development of peer worker roles in two Scottish health board areas. Findings suggest that new evidence on effective implementation and cost effectiveness should be prioritised. It suggests that a policy commitment to peer working would be reinforced by not only a strengthened evidence base but also strengthened accountability mechanisms.
This journal article describes studies evaluating the outcomes of peer support programmes for people with diabetes. It focuses on assessing changes in blood sugar levels and control and concludes that peer support had a significant impact on HbA1c levels among patients with type 2 diabetes.
