Midwifery and Social Sciences, School of Nursing, Central Queensland University, 554/700 Yaamba Road, Norman Gardens, QLD 4701, Australia.
School of Management, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Apr 13;15(4):746. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040746.
Mental health peer work is attracting growing interest and provides a potentially impactful method of service user involvement in mental health design and delivery, contributing to mental health reform. The need to effectively support this emerging workforce is consequently increasing. This study aimed to better understand the views of management in relation to peer work and specifically explores the value of peer work from the perspective of management. This qualitative research employed grounded theory methods. There were 29 participants in total, employed in both peer designated and non-peer designated management roles, in not for profit and public health organisations in Queensland, Australia. The value of peer work as described by participants is found to be partially dependent on practical supports and strategies from the organisation. There were high benefits for all facets of the organisation when effective recruitment and ongoing support for peer workers was prioritised and a higher perception of limitations when they were not. Due to some parallels, it may be useful to explore the potential for peer work to be conceptually and/or practically considered as a form of diversity and inclusion employment.
心理健康同行工作越来越受到关注，为服务使用者参与心理健康设计和提供服务提供了一种潜在的有影响力的方法，有助于心理健康改革。因此，有效支持这一新兴劳动力的需求也在不断增加。本研究旨在更好地了解管理层对同行工作的看法，特别是从管理层的角度探讨同行工作的价值。这项定性研究采用了扎根理论方法。共有 29 名参与者，分别在澳大利亚昆士兰州非营利组织和公共卫生组织中担任同行指定和非同行指定的管理职务。参与者所描述的同行工作的价值部分取决于组织提供的实际支持和策略。当优先考虑为同行工作人员进行有效的招聘和持续支持时，对组织的所有方面都有很大的好处，而当不这样做时，则会对限制有更高的认识。由于存在一些相似之处，因此可能有必要探索将同行工作作为多样性和包容性就业的一种形式在概念上和/或实际上进行考虑的潜力。
