scholarly journals A Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis of the Way Peer Support Specialist Roles Change Over Time in a Psychiatric Hospital Setting in Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Poremski ◽  
Jonathan Kuek ◽  
Yuan Qi ◽  
Ziqiang Li ◽  
Kah Lai Yow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Role Clarity ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Spheres Of Influence ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Time Required

AbstractThe current study seeks to determine how peer support roles change as peer support specialists’ positions within organizations and departments mature. We followed ten peer support specialists over the course of a year, interviewing them at three points, starting approximately three months after they began working as peer support specialists. We used an inductive process to analyze our data and followed guidelines on the structuring of longitudinal qualitative trajectories to divide the data into watershed moments. Our participants worked in a variety of departments in the hospital, and their service use experiences generally echo those of their service users. Participants appear to pass through four phases over the course of their employment as peers: early beginnings, establishing the role, role narrowing, and role sustainability. Services wishing to integrate new peers must be aware of the time required for integration. Having general job descriptions limited to specifying that peers are expected to use their lived experience to support current service users may lead to uncertainty amongst new and existing staff. Without role clarity, peers may struggle to find their place. Pairing new staff with mentors may limit this burden. As roles consolidate, boundaries may emerge. If these boundaries narrow the role of the PSS, they may no longer find the role appealing. They may then choose other caregiver roles with wider or different spheres of influence. Organizations may benefit by clearly indicating if they expect peer support positions to be static or transitionary.

From surviving to thriving: how does that happen

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 337-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bertram ◽  
Sarah McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employment Education ◽  
Vocational Goals ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what helped seven people in contact with secondary mental health services achieve their vocational goals, such as: employment, education, training and volunteering. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used the practice of co-operative inquiry – staff and peer supporters co-designed an evaluation of vocational and peer support work with service users. Findings – Service users experienced invalidating living conditions that caused serious distress. These life struggles included: isolation, trauma events and stigma. The impact involved distressing emotions such as: despair, fear, pain and confusion. In contrast, when service users experienced supportive validating conditions (trusting relationships, engaging in valued activity and peer support) they reported being able to learn, change and grow – finding their own way forward, to improve well-being and quality of life. Research limitations/implications – Qualitative analysis from in-depth interviews revealed a range of consistent themes that enabled the authors to visually represent these and “begin” developing a model of change – grounded in lived experience. Further research is required to develop this model. Originality/value – The development of a model of change grounded in an invalidation/validation framework offers a different approach – in terms of how people are perceived and treated. This has relevance for Government policy development, clinical commissioning groups and practitioners.

Recovery College influences upon service users: a Recovery Academy exploration of employment and service use

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-148
Author(s):  
Rebecca Sutton ◽  
Kate Lawrence ◽  
Elisabeth Zabel ◽  
Paul French
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploration of Recovery Academy influences upon employment and service use amongst individuals with lived experience of mental health difficulties. Design/methodology/approach The study utilised a questionnaire design over a nine-month period. Participants’ baseline and follow-up data were analysed to explore the influence of course attendance upon employment and service use. Findings At follow-up, there was a significant association between participants attending Recovery Academy courses and paid or self-employment (p<0.05). However, there were also no significant differences in service use over time between those who attended courses and those who did not attend any courses. Research limitations/implications Further research is required to explore the cost-effectiveness of the Recovery Academy. As participants were all enroled onto the Recovery Academy findings may not be generalisable to other Recovery Colleges. There is a need for more robust research such as a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate multiple Recovery Colleges and establish definitive conclusions as to their economic implications. Social implications There may be value in the Recovery Academy as a gateway to employment, speaking to the transformative powers of Recovery Colleges. The Recovery Academy may serve as a vehicle to support service users to obtain paid or self-employment, and thus promote community reintegration. Originality/value This paper offers an important contribution to the Recovery College literature, which remains limited in evaluative evidence, particularly regarding associated economic factors, such as employment and service use.

Accessibility, Mobility and Spatial Patterns of Primary Health Care use in Ajedabiya: a Household Interview Survey

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
Salem F. Salem
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Health Care Use ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Consultation Rate ◽  
General Evaluation ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Time Required

AbstractThe primary objective of this study is to examine the type of Primary Health Care (PHC) facility used by a sample of households in Ajedabiya, taking into account the respondents' living standards and their perception of the quality of the care provided, as well as the mode of travel and travel time required to reach the health care centres. The overall level of service use has been increasing over time, reaching an annual consultation rate of up to four visits per person per year, a high level by international standards. Three major groupings of disease were identified for which the four selected PHC facilities were preferred. Satisfaction with care was analysed by looking at key variables, including staff behaviour, availability of doctors, vector distance to the PHC facility, general evaluation of health services and qualified doctors. Household incomes did not appear to be an important factor except for attending private clinics. Unlike income, distance had a strong effect on utilisation, leading to the conclusion that PHC should continue to be provided within the community, and developed further to achieve equity, effectiveness and affordability.

Is co-production working well in recovery colleges? Emergent themes from a systematic narrative review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Louise Bester ◽  
Anne McGlade ◽  
Eithne Darragh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Care ◽  
The Body ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practitioner Attitudes ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Impact

Purpose “Co-production” is a process in health and social care wherein service users and practitioners work in partnership. Recovery colleges (RCs) are educational establishments offering mental health education; a cornerstone feature is that courses are designed and delivered in parity by both mental health practitioners and “peers” – people with lived experience of mental illness. This paper aims to consider, through the identification of key themes, whether co-production within RCs is operating successfully. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a systematic review of qualitative literature. Relevant concept groups were systematically searched using three bibliographic databases: Medline, Social Care Online and Scopus. Articles were quality appraised and then synthesised through inductive thematic analysis and emergent trends identified. Findings Synthesis identified three key themes relating to the impact of co-production in RCs: practitioner attitudes, power dynamics between practitioners and service users, and RCs’ relationships with their host organisations. As a result of RC engagement, traditional practitioner/patient hierarchies were found to be eroding. Practitioners felt they were more person-centred. RCs can model good co-productive practices to their host organisations. The review concluded, with some caveats, that RC co-production was of high fidelity. Originality/value RC research is growing, but the body of evidence remains relatively small. Most of what exists examine the impact of RCs on individuals’ overall recovery and mental health; there is a limited empirical investigation into whether their flagship feature of parity between peers and practitioners is genuine.

Nine-Month Longitudinal Impact of Peer Support Workers’ Recovery Attributes on Service Users’ Recovery in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
pp. appi.ps.2020000
Author(s):  
Winnie W. S. Mak ◽  
Amanda C. M. Fu ◽  
Larry Auyeung ◽  
Winnie W. L. Cheng ◽  
Randolph C. H. Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Longitudinal Impact ◽  
Service Users

scholarly journals Combining online and offline peer support groups in mental health care: A qualitative study of service users� experiences (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Strand ◽  
Deede Gammon ◽  
Lillian Sofie Eng ◽  
Cornelia Ruland
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Individual Interviews

BACKGROUND Peer support groups for people with long-term mental health problems are at the heart of recovery-oriented approaches in mental health care. When conducted face-to-face (offline) or on the Internet (online), peer support groups have proven to have differing strengths and weaknesses. Little is known about the benefits and challenges of combining the two formats. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to gain insights into the benefits and challenges of combining online and offline peer support groups facilitated through an Internet intervention designed to support recovery processes. METHODS In this exploratory and descriptive study, an e-recovery portal called ReConnect was used by service users in two mental health communities in Norway for 6-12 months. The portal included an online peer support forum which also facilitated participation in local in-person ReConnect-cafés. Both formats of peer support were facilitated by an employed service user consultant with lived experience of mental health problems and with training in peer support. Qualitative data about service users’ experiences of using the portal were collected through focus groups and individual interviews and inductively analyzed thematically with focus on benefits and challenges of peer support online and offline. RESULTS A total of 14 service users 22-63 years of age with various diagnoses, receiving services at both primary and specialist levels of mental health care participated in three focus groups and 10 individual interviews. Two main themes were identified in the analysis: 1) balancing anonymity and openness, and 2) enabling connectedness. These themes are further illustrated with the subthemes: i) dilemmas of anonymity and confidentiality, ii) towards self-disclosure and openness, iii) new friendships, and iv) networks in the local community. Three of the subthemes mainly describe benefits. Challenges were more implicit and cut across the subthemes. Identified challenges were linked to transitions from anonymity to revealing one’s identity, how to protect confidentiality, or to participation at face-to-face meetings in the local community. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that online peer support groups and offline meetings complement each other, and the combination is mainly beneficial to users. The identified benefits appeared to arise from participants’ options of one format or the other, or that they could combine formats in ways that suited their individual values and comfort zones. We also identified challenges related to combination of formats, and both formats require appropriate facilitation of peer support. Combining online formats that enable anonymity, a non-judgmental atmosphere, and 24/7 accessibility regardless of location, with offline formats that foster local, in-person community ties, is a promising concept for facilitating recovery-oriented care, and warrants continued research.

Refugee and asylum seekers’ experiences

2021 ◽  
pp. 281-290
Author(s):  
Rachel Tribe ◽  
Angelina Jalonen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Service Users ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

This chapter reviews the socio-political environment and legal factors that provide the context and influence the lived experience of many refugees and asylum seekers. These factors are considered in relation to flight, arrival, and settlement in a new country. How these contextual factors may impact upon refugees and asylum seekers, their sense of identity, and mental health will be reviewed. The chapter reflects upon the possible challenges faced by many refugees and asylum seekers, as well as arguing that the strengths, resilience, and coping strategies that many asylum seekers and refugees exhibit need to be adequately considered by clinicians, if a meaningful service is to be provided. The importance of clinicians being culturally curious and listening to service users’ meaning-making is vital. An overview of some other issues that clinicians may need to consider is provided. The chapter contains a number of case studies to illustrate the related issues.

Health in a connected world

2020 ◽  
pp. 573-580
Author(s):  
Philippe Delespaul ◽  
Catherine van Zelst
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Changing World

This chapter is about a redesign of mental healthcare, as it evolves in a changing world. It focuses on digital transformations and their impact on social relationships, networks, and communities. It intends to demonstrate better responses to the needs of service users in society. It first defines terminologies to access the changing world and focus on how to understand health, recovery, and well-being in people with lived experience of psychosis. These central elements can be accessed or maintained using eHealth, including mHealth, virtual reality, and eCommunities. It also discuss strengths, challenges, and pitfalls in developing and applying innovative interventions in the context of daily life. It reviews these trends and how these relate to the therapeutic relationship in general, and the mental health practitioner’s role in particular.

Key Attributes and the Use of Advanced Mobile Services

2011 ◽  
pp. 119-128
Author(s):  
Jennifer Blechar ◽  
Ioanna D. Constantiou ◽  
Jan Damsgaard
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Mobile Services ◽  
Western World ◽  
Mobile Service ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Technological Developments

Advanced mobile service use and adoption remains low in most of the Western world despite impressive technological developments. Much effort has thus been placed on better understanding the behavior of advanced mobile service users. Previous research efforts have identified several key attributes deemed to provide indications of the behavior of consumers in the m-services market. This chapter continues with this line of research by further exploring these key attributes of new mobile services. Through a field study of new mobile service use by 36 Danish mobile phone users, this chapter illustrates the manner in which users’ perceptions related to the key attributes of service quality, content-device fit and personalization were adversely affected after approximately three months of trial of the services offered.

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