What Makes Intentional Unidirectional Peer Support for Homeless People Work? An Exploratory Analysis Based on Clients’ and Peer Workers’ Perceptions

Schel, Sandra H. H.; Dries, Linda van den; Wolf, Judith

doi:10.1177/10497323221083356

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Four programs recruited the peer health workers as volunteers [ 14 , 27 , 45 , 47 ]. One qualitative report noted in their study that four organizations formally employed peer workers, whereas one organization engaged peer workers on a voluntary basis [ 54 ]. Ten programs did not report employment status [ 14 , 29 , 31 , 40 , 46 , 48 , 49 , 51 , 56 , 57 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest document was published in 1995, with the remaining being published from 2005-2023. 20 sources described programs in the United States [16,19,20,22,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], four sources described programs in Canada [43][44][45][46], nine sources described programs in the United Kingdom [14,18,21,[47][48][49][50][51][52], and there was one source from each in Kenya [53], the Netherlands [54], and Australia [55]. Two knowledge syntheses were included that referred to studies from various locations [56,57].…”

Section: Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Peer and lay health work for people experiencing homelessness: A scoping review

Mangan,

del Cid Nunez,

Daou

et al. 2024

PLOS Glob Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Homelessness poses complex health obstacles for individuals and communities. Peer and lay health worker programs aim to increase access to health care and improve health outcomes for PEH by building trust and empowering community-based workers. The scope and breadth of peer and lay health worker programs among PEH has not been synthesized. The primary objective of this scoping review is to understand the context (setting, community, condition or disease) encompassing peer and lay health worker programs within the homelessness sector. The secondary objective is to examine the factors that either facilitate or hinder the effectiveness of peer and lay health worker programs when applied to people experiencing homelessness (PEH). We searched CINHAL, Cochrane, Web of Science Core Collection, PsycINFO, Google Scholar and MEDLINE. We conducted independent and duplicate screening of titles and abstracts, and extracted information from eligible studies including study and intervention characteristics, peer personnel characteristics, outcome measures, and the inhibitors and enablers of effective programs. We discuss how peer and lay health work programs have successfully been implemented in various contexts including substance use, chronic disease management, harm reduction, and mental health among people experiencing homelessness. These programs reported four themes of enablers (shared experiences, trust and rapport, strong knowledge base, and flexibility of role) and five themes of barriers and inhibitors (lack of support and clear scope of role, poor attendance, precarious work and high turnover, safety, and mental well-being and relational boundaries). Organizations seeking to implement these interventions should anticipate and plan around the enablers and barriers to promote program success. Further investigation is needed to understand how peer and lay health work programs are implemented, the mechanisms and processes that drive effective peer and lay health work among PEH, and to establish best practices for these programs.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer and lay health work for people experiencing homelessness: A scoping review

Mangan,

del Cid Nunez,

Daou

et al. 2024

PLOS Glob Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Four programs recruited the peer health workers as volunteers [14,27,45,47]. One qualitative report noted in their study that four organizations formally employed peer workers, whereas one organization engaged peer workers on a voluntary basis [54]. Ten programs did not report employment status [14,29,31,40,46,48,49,51,56,57].…”

Section: Plos Global Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mental well-being and relational boundaries (n = 9). Various studies reported peers had difficulty maintaining professional boundaries with clients, while still being supportive [14,48,50,54,57]. Challenges with personal boundaries would occasionally occur where peers PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH developed friendships, lent money, borrowed items, etc.…”

Section: Inhibitors/barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Untitled

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Can you be a peer if you don’t share the same health or social conditions? A qualitative study on peer integration in a primary care setting

Lessard,

O’Brien,

Panaite

et al. 2024

BMC Prim. Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Peer support has been extensively studied in specific areas of community-based primary care such as mental health, substance use, HIV, homelessness, and Indigenous health. These programs are often built on the assumption that peers must share similar social identities or lived experiences of disease to be effective. However, it remains unclear how peers can be integrated in general primary care setting that serves people with a diversity of health conditions and social backgrounds. Methods A participatory qualitative study was conducted between 2020 and 2022 to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effects of the integration of a peer support worker in a primary care setting in Montreal, Canada. A thematic analysis was performed based on semi-structured interviews (n = 18) with patients, relatives, clinicians, and a peer support worker. Findings Findings show that peers connect with patients through sharing their own hardships and how they overcame them, rather than sharing similar health or social conditions. Peers provide social support and coaching beyond the care trajectory and link identified needs with available resources in the community, bridging the gap between health and social care. Primary care clinicians benefit from peer support work, as it helps overcome therapeutic impasses and facilitates communication of patient needs. However, integrating a peer into a primary care team can be challenging due to clinicians’ understanding of the nature and limits of peer support work, financial compensation, and the absence of a formal status within healthcare system. Conclusion Our results show that to establish a relationship of trust, a peer does not need to share similar health or social conditions. Instead, they leverage their experiential knowledge, strengths, and abilities to create meaningful relationships and reliable connections that bridge the gap between health and social care. This, in turn, instills patients with hope for a better life, empowers them to take an active role in their own care, and helps them achieve life goals beyond healthcare. Finally, integrating peers in primary care contributes in overcoming obstacles to prevention and care, reduce distrust of institutions, prioritize needs, and help patients navigate the complexities of healthcare services.

show abstract

What Makes Intentional Unidirectional Peer Support for Homeless People Work? An Exploratory Analysis Based on Clients’ and Peer Workers’ Perceptions

Cited by 3 publications

References 24 publications

Peer and lay health work for people experiencing homelessness: A scoping review

Peer and lay health work for people experiencing homelessness: A scoping review

Untitled

Can you be a peer if you don’t share the same health or social conditions? A qualitative study on peer integration in a primary care setting

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About