Live & Learn, Inc., Morro Bay, California (Ostrow, Pelot); School of Global and Community Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California (Ostrow); Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago (Cook, Burke-Miller); Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia (Salzer).
Psychiatr Serv. 2022 Nov 1;73(11):1239-1247. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202100651. Epub 2022 Jun 23.
A 3-year study explores employment outcomes of certified peer specialists (CPSs). Analyses reported here identified relationships between demographic, clinical, work history, and geographic characteristics and employment status and current employment in peer services jobs versus other jobs.
The study recruited adults who recently became a CPS, regardless of current employment status, in four states. Online survey data were collected from March to October 2020 and included demographic information, health status and diagnoses, mental health service use, motivations for becoming certified, employment history, and job characteristics, including job satisfaction. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to compare groups.
Of 681 respondents, 591 provided data on current employment and were included. Participants who received Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income, veterans, those who used outpatient counseling or therapy, and those who did not disclose their mental health status in the workplace were less likely to report current employment. Lack of disclosure and higher local unemployment rates contributed to a lower likelihood of working in peer services jobs, whereas individuals reporting depressive disorders were more likely to hold such jobs. Compared with those in other jobs, those in peer services jobs reported longer job tenure, and a larger proportion received employee benefits. Job satisfaction was significantly higher among those with peer services jobs.
Workers with a CPS credential had higher employment rates, compared with adults with psychiatric disabilities, and the quality of peer specialist jobs was equal to or higher than the quality of other jobs held by study participants.
一项为期 3 年的研究探讨了认证同伴专家（CPS）的就业成果。这里报告的分析确定了人口统计学、临床、工作经历和地理位置特征与就业状况和当前从事同伴服务工作与其他工作之间的关系。
该研究招募了最近成为 CPS 的成年人，无论其当前就业状况如何，在四个州进行。从 2020 年 3 月到 10 月，通过在线调查收集了数据，包括人口统计学信息、健康状况和诊断、心理健康服务使用情况、成为认证的动机、工作经历以及工作特征，包括工作满意度。使用描述性统计和逻辑回归模型比较了不同组别。
在 681 名受访者中，有 591 名提供了当前就业数据并被纳入分析。那些领取社会保障残疾保险或补充保障收入、退伍军人、使用门诊咨询或治疗的人，以及那些在工作场所没有透露自己心理健康状况的人，报告当前就业的可能性较低。缺乏披露和较高的地方失业率导致从事同伴服务工作的可能性降低，而报告患有抑郁障碍的人更有可能从事此类工作。与从事其他工作的人相比，从事同伴服务工作的人报告的工作任期更长，并且有更大比例的人获得了员工福利。从事同伴服务工作的人报告的工作满意度显著更高。
与患有精神残疾的成年人相比，持有 CPS 证书的工人的就业率更高，并且同伴专家工作的质量与研究参与者从事的其他工作的质量相等或更高。
