Evolvement of Peer Support Workers’ Roles in Psychiatric Hospitals: A Longitudinal Qualitative Observation Study

Nossek, Alexa; Werning, Anna; Otte, Ina; Vollmann, Jochen; Juckel, Georg; Gather, Jakov

doi:10.1007/s10597-020-00741-1

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Although this issue was controversially discussed, some participants in Be’er Sheva even seemed to value blurred role boundaries. This supports qualitative findings that a lack of clear role definitions can offer positive effects for PSWs finding their own role definitions [ 43 ]. Considering the long traditions in peer support in Be’er Sheva and Hamburg, less hierarchical relations between PSWs and MHWs appear as a consequent step in transforming traditional mental health systems into services where team members work together as equal partners irrespective of sharing lived experiences.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Mental health workers’ perspectives on peer support in high-, middle- and low income settings: a focus group study

et al. 2022

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Background Peer support is increasingly acknowledged as an integral part of mental health services around the world. However, most research on peer support comes from high-income countries, with little attention to similarities and differences between different settings and how these affect implementation. Mental health workers have an important role to play in integrating formal peer support into statutory services, and their attitudes toward peer support can represent either a barrier to or facilitator of successful implementation. Thus, this study investigates mental health workers’ attitudes toward peer support across a range of high- (Germany, Israel), middle- (India), and low-income country (Tanzania, Uganda) settings. Methods Six focus groups were conducted in Ulm and Hamburg (Germany), Butabika (Uganda), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Be’er Sheva (Israel), and Ahmedabad, Gujarat (India) with a total of 35 participants. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results Participants across the study sites demonstrated overall positive attitudes towards peer support in mental health care, although some concerns were raised on potentially harmful effects of peer support such as negative role modelling and giving inadequate advice to service users. Notably, mental health workers from low- and middle-income countries described peer support workers as bridge-builders and emphasized the mutual benefits of peer support. Mental health workers’ views on peer support workers’ roles and role boundaries differed between sites. In some settings, mental health workers strongly agreed on the need for role clarity, whereas in others, mental health workers expressed mixed views, with some preferring blurred role boundaries. Regarding collaboration, mental health workers described peer support workers as supporters and utilizers, equal partners or emphasized a need for trust and commitment. Conclusions Mental health workers’ attitudes toward peer support workers were positive overall, but they also varied depending on local context, resources and previous experiences with peer support. This affected their conceptions of peer support workers’ roles, role clarity, and collaboration. This study demonstrated that reconciling the need for local adaptations and safeguarding the core values of peer support is necessary and possible, especially when the implementation of recovery-oriented interventions such as peer support is accelerating worldwide.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Mental health workers’ perspectives on peer support in high-, middle- and low income settings: a focus group study

et al. 2022

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“…Interviewees discussed their own initial lack of clarity and sense of ambiguity over the role of the PSW, a phenomenon that surfaced in existing PSW literature (Ibrahim et al , 2020; Nossek et al , 2021). As Collins et al (2016) point out, it may be due to failure of adequately preparing staff for the integration of PSWs into the service.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past 20 years, peer support has re-emerged and developed globally in various forms. The 1990s “service user” movement is argued to have played a key role in its emergence, representing new advancements in community mental health (Nossek et al , 2021) and influencing much of present-day health-care delivery. During this time, in Australia, the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Campaign advocated the employment of individuals known as consumer consultants (Middleton et al , 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Staff experiences of working alongside peer support workers in forensic mental health community teams: a qualitative study

Nash

Taplin

Rust

et al. 2022

JFP

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Purpose Peer support workers (PSWs) are individuals with lived experience of mental health difficulties, who apply this to support and inspire others in their recovery. The role of PSWs is relatively new within the forensic health-care service. Although there has been little time for these roles to develop, PSWs have successfully integrated into community teams. Despite perceived benefits of having these workers within a multi-disciplinary team (MDT), the views held by mental health professionals in forensic services have not yet been studied. The purpose of this research is to develop an understanding of the experiences of staff working with PSWs in a community forensic team and the impact this has on them. Design/methodology/approach Structured, individual interviews were conducted with eight mental health professionals, from a variety of disciplines, used across two community teams within forensic services. The data was examined according to thematic analysis. Findings The data indicated general positive attitudes held by professionals surrounding the working with PSWs, including the themes “providing alternative perspectives”, “unique relationships” and “hope”. Yet, themes concerned around “role ambiguity”, “boundaries” and “the impact on PSWs” also arose. Practical implications This study provides insight into the attitudes held by members of an MDT of working with PSWs. Although seemingly positive, the lack of clarity around the role of the PSW is problematic. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the employment of PSWs in the context of UK forensic settings, highlighting the benefits and challenges of such from the perspective of staff.

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“…Peer support workers also work as paid employees in public sector organisations (e.g. Wall et al, 2021), and peer support work can also be based on long-term training and implemented in professional settings such as hospitals or mental health care teams (Nossek et al, 2021;Otte et al, 2020). In addition, peer support workers work with individuals as well as with groups, in psychiatric wards, advocacy, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, support structures such as resources, programmes, training of staff and peer support workers, a clear definition of the roles of different actors, and supervision and management of the activities have been highlighted as important. (Ibrahim et al, 2020;Mancini, 2018;Mulvale et al, 2019;Nossek et al, 2021;Repper & Carter, 2011. ) In Finland, EbyE actors have been identified to have both hierarchical and partnership-based positions in relation to professionals (Soronen, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitators and Challenges of Integrating Experts by Experience Activity in Mental Health Services: Experiences from Finland

Kivistö

Martin

Hautala

et al. 2022

Community Ment Health J

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This qualitative study examines the facilitators and challenges of integrating Experts by Experience (EbyE) activity in mental health services in the public sector from the perspective of mental health professionals and trained EbyE. The research data consist of four focus group interviews conducted in one hospital district in Finland. In the hospital district, EbyE activity is an established working model in mental health services. The professional focus groups had 9, and the EbyE focus groups had 13 participants. The data were analysed using abductive content analysis. The experiences of professionals and EbyE emphasised the successful integration of EbyE activity. The identified facilitators of integration included an organisational culture that values EbyE activity, facilitating operating structures, and extensive implementation and utilization of EbyE activities. Despite successful integration, certain challenges were described with regard to actors and practices. The findings indicate that the hospital district has overcome many of the obstacles to the integration identified in previous studies. The findings highlight the role of effectively implemented, organised EbyE activity.

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Evolvement of Peer Support Workers’ Roles in Psychiatric Hospitals: A Longitudinal Qualitative Observation Study

Cited by 10 publications

References 44 publications

Mental health workers’ perspectives on peer support in high-, middle- and low income settings: a focus group study

Mental health workers’ perspectives on peer support in high-, middle- and low income settings: a focus group study

Staff experiences of working alongside peer support workers in forensic mental health community teams: a qualitative study

Facilitators and Challenges of Integrating Experts by Experience Activity in Mental Health Services: Experiences from Finland

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