Markoulakis R, Turner M, Wicik K, Weingust S, Dobbin K, Levitt A
Family Navigation Project, Sunnybrook Research Institute, 1929 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4G 3E8, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
Community Ment Health J. 2018 Jul;54(5):555-561. doi: 10.1007/s10597-017-0191-y. Epub 2017 Nov 16.
Roles for peer support workers are increasingly recognized as a valuable component of mental health and addictions (MHA) services. In youth MHA care, caregivers are often closely involved in finding and accessing services and may also require support for themselves, yet caregiver peer support is not readily available in existing service delivery models. In order to understand the potential role and value of a caregiver peer support worker in a Family Navigation service, a descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the needs and potential value of a peer worker from caregiver client perspectives. Study findings indicate that a caregiver peer support worker can provide support for engaging in the caregiving role, utilize lived experience as a skill, and complement navigation support through lived experience. The discussion highlights implications for the implementation of a caregiver peer role at a family-focused service as well as implications for peer work within the MHA system.
同伴支持工作者的角色日益被视为心理健康与成瘾（MHA）服务的重要组成部分。在青少年MHA护理中，照顾者通常密切参与寻找和获得服务的过程，他们自身可能也需要支持，然而在现有的服务提供模式中，照顾者同伴支持并不容易获得。为了了解照顾者同伴支持工作者在家庭导航服务中的潜在作用和价值，开展了一项描述性定性研究，从照顾者客户的角度探讨同伴工作者的需求和潜在价值。研究结果表明，照顾者同伴支持工作者可以为承担照顾角色提供支持，将实际生活经验作为一项技能加以运用，并通过实际生活经验补充导航支持。讨论部分强调了在以家庭为中心的服务中实施照顾者同伴角色的意义，以及在MHA系统内开展同伴工作的意义。
