How to support and facilitate peer engagement in service provision roles

Key take-home messages

• Peer support workers offer unique and valuable support to their peers by sharing similar lived experiences, particularly in mental health services and chronic disease management.
• Peer support workers are motivated by intrinsic desires to improve their own well-being and the well-being of their peers.
• To engage and retain peers, organizations should reinforce intrinsic rewards for peers, take steps to protect and nurture their health and well-being, and invest in ongoing and frequent training that is focused on both skills and content.
• Lack of role clarity is challenging for peers. To integrate peer support workers into the workplace, organizations should clarify peer roles and create a culture that highlights the integral services peers provide.
• The role of monetary incentives in engaging and retaining peers has not been explored in the literature and requires more thought and study.

• Determinants of Health
  • Social support
• Population(s)
  • Other
• Health Systems
  • Delivery arrangements