Wyder Marianne, Roennfeldt Helena, Parker Stephen, Vilic Gabrielle, McCann Karen, Ehrlich Carolyn, Dark Frances Louise
Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
The Hopkins Centre, Menzies Health Institute, Griffith University, Logan, QLD, Australia.
Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 17;11:587656. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.587656. eCollection 2020.
The importance of peer support workers in mental health care delivery has been extensively advocated for in mental health policy frameworks. However, there has been limited research examining the implementation of paid peer workers in clinical settings. This study explores the experience of paid peer support workers integrated within a clinically-operated community-based residential rehabilitation service for people diagnosed with a mental health disorder experiencing challenges living independently in the community. A general inductive approach was taken in the analysis of diaries completed by a newly employed peer workforce. These diaries focussed on what they viewed as significant interactions in fulfilling their role. Composite vignettes were generated to illustrate key themes. Thirty-six diaries were provided; these reported unplanned and spontaneously occurring interactions. Peer workers emphasized the importance of connecting with people while they were engaging in everyday activities as an opportunity for personal growth of the residents. The diaries also focussed on the peer workers' ability to connect and establish trust by sharing similar experiences with residents or family members. Peer workers also believed that they brought a different perspective than clinical staff and were able to refocus attention from clinical diagnoses and symptoms to other aspects of the resident's lives. Peer support workers described their work as flexible, responsive, and adaptable to the resident's needs. They believed that their roles brought a different lens to interactions on the unit and fostered a more inclusive and personal way of working for the team. To ensure that peer workers can engage authentically with residents and family members, it is critical that the role and principles of peer work are valued and understood by all.
同伴支持工作者在精神卫生保健服务中的重要性在精神卫生政策框架中得到了广泛倡导。然而，关于在临床环境中实施带薪同伴工作者的研究却很有限。本研究探讨了在一个由临床运营的、为被诊断患有精神疾病且在社区独立生活面临挑战的人群提供社区住宿康复服务中，带薪同伴支持工作者的经历。在分析新雇佣的同伴工作者填写的日记时采用了一般归纳法。这些日记关注他们认为在履行职责过程中重要的互动。生成了综合案例来阐明关键主题。共提供了36篇日记，这些日记记录了计划外的自发互动。同伴工作者强调在居民参与日常活动时与之建立联系的重要性，认为这是居民个人成长的机会。日记还关注同伴工作者通过与居民或家庭成员分享相似经历来建立联系和信任的能力。同伴工作者还认为他们带来了与临床工作人员不同的视角，能够将注意力从临床诊断和症状转移到居民生活的其他方面。同伴支持工作者将他们的工作描述为灵活、有回应性且能适应居民需求。他们认为自己的角色为病房内的互动带来了不同视角，并促进了团队更具包容性和个性化的工作方式。为确保同伴工作者能够与居民和家庭成员进行真实互动，至关重要的是，同伴工作的角色和原则要得到所有人的重视和理解。
