TY - JOUR
AU - É Lessard
AU - N. O'Brien
AU - A. C. Panaite
AU - M. Leclaire
AU - G. Castonguay
AU - G. Rouly
AU - A. Boivin
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Peer support has been extensively studied in specific areas of community-based primary care such as mental health, substance use, HIV, homelessness, and Indigenous health. These programs are often built on the assumption that peers must share similar social identities or lived experiences of disease to be effective. However, it remains unclear how peers can be integrated in general primary care setting that serves people with a diversity of health conditions and social backgrounds. METHODS: A participatory qualitative study was conducted between 2020 and 2022 to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effects of the integration of a peer support worker in a primary care setting in Montreal, Canada. A thematic analysis was performed based on semi-structured interviews (n = 18) with patients, relatives, clinicians, and a peer support worker. FINDINGS: Findings show that peers connect with patients through sharing their own hardships and how they overcame them, rather than sharing similar health or social conditions. Peers provide social support and coaching beyond the care trajectory and link identified needs with available resources in the community, bridging the gap between health and social care. Primary care clinicians benefit from peer support work, as it helps overcome therapeutic impasses and facilitates communication of patient needs. However, integrating a peer into a primary care team can be challenging due to clinicians' understanding of the nature and limits of peer support work, financial compensation, and the absence of a formal status within healthcare system. CONCLUSION: Our results show that to establish a relationship of trust, a peer does not need to share similar health or social conditions. Instead, they leverage their experiential knowledge, strengths, and abilities to create meaningful relationships and reliable connections that bridge the gap between health and social care. This, in turn, instills patients with hope for a better life, empowers them to take an active role in their own care, and helps them achieve life goals beyond healthcare. Finally, integrating peers in primary care contributes in overcoming obstacles to prevention and care, reduce distrust of institutions, prioritize needs, and help patients navigate the complexities of healthcare services.
AD - Canada Research Chair in Partnership with Patients and Communities, Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), 850 St-Denis Street, Montréal, Québec, H2X 0A9, Canada.; Public Health Agency of Canada, 200 René-Lévesque West Blvd, #102, Montréal, Québec, H2Z 1X4, Canada.; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal, 2900 Édouard-Montpetit Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada.; Canada Research Chair in Partnership with Patients and Communities, Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), 850 St-Denis Street, Montréal, Québec, H2X 0A9, Canada. antoine.boivin@chairepartenariat.ca.; Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal, 2900 Édouard-Montpetit Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1J4, Canada. antoine.boivin@chairepartenariat.ca.
AN - 39134944
BT - BMC Prim Care
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
CP - 1
DA - Aug 12
DO - 10.1186/s12875-024-02548-5
DP - NLM
ET - 20240812
IS - 1
JF - BMC Prim Care
LA - eng
N2 - BACKGROUND: Peer support has been extensively studied in specific areas of community-based primary care such as mental health, substance use, HIV, homelessness, and Indigenous health. These programs are often built on the assumption that peers must share similar social identities or lived experiences of disease to be effective. However, it remains unclear how peers can be integrated in general primary care setting that serves people with a diversity of health conditions and social backgrounds. METHODS: A participatory qualitative study was conducted between 2020 and 2022 to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effects of the integration of a peer support worker in a primary care setting in Montreal, Canada. A thematic analysis was performed based on semi-structured interviews (n = 18) with patients, relatives, clinicians, and a peer support worker. FINDINGS: Findings show that peers connect with patients through sharing their own hardships and how they overcame them, rather than sharing similar health or social conditions. Peers provide social support and coaching beyond the care trajectory and link identified needs with available resources in the community, bridging the gap between health and social care. Primary care clinicians benefit from peer support work, as it helps overcome therapeutic impasses and facilitates communication of patient needs. However, integrating a peer into a primary care team can be challenging due to clinicians' understanding of the nature and limits of peer support work, financial compensation, and the absence of a formal status within healthcare system. CONCLUSION: Our results show that to establish a relationship of trust, a peer does not need to share similar health or social conditions. Instead, they leverage their experiential knowledge, strengths, and abilities to create meaningful relationships and reliable connections that bridge the gap between health and social care. This, in turn, instills patients with hope for a better life, empowers them to take an active role in their own care, and helps them achieve life goals beyond healthcare. Finally, integrating peers in primary care contributes in overcoming obstacles to prevention and care, reduce distrust of institutions, prioritize needs, and help patients navigate the complexities of healthcare services.
PY - 2024
SN - 2731-4553
SP - 298
ST - Can you be a peer if you don't share the same health or social conditions? A qualitative study on peer integration in a primary care setting
T1 - Can you be a peer if you don't share the same health or social conditions? A qualitative study on peer integration in a primary care setting
T2 - BMC Prim Care
TI - Can you be a peer if you don't share the same health or social conditions? A qualitative study on peer integration in a primary care setting
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1186/s12875-024-02548-5
VL - 25
VO - 2731-4553
Y1 - 2024
ER -