A community-based peer-support group intervention "Paths to EvERyday life" (PEER) added to service as usual for adults with vulnerability to mental health difficulties - a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Chalotte Heinsvig Poulsen, Cecilie Høgh Egmose, Bea Kolbe Ebersbach, Carsten Hjorthøj, Lene Falgaard Eplov, Chalotte Heinsvig Poulsen, Cecilie Høgh Egmose, Bea Kolbe Ebersbach, Carsten Hjorthøj, Lene Falgaard Eplov

Abstract

Background: The number of people struggling with vulnerability to mental health difficulties is increasing worldwide, and there is a need for new interventions, to prevent more people from developing serious mental illnesses. In recent years, peer support has been suggested as a key element in creating person-centered interventions in mental health services. However, the evidence for peer support is not yet established. We aim to investigate the effect of a 10-week peer-support intervention "Paths to EvERyday life" (PEER) added to service as usual (SAU) versus SAU alone in a Danish municipality setting.

Methods: A two-armed, investigator-initiated, multi-municipal, parallel-group superiority trial to investigate the effectiveness of the PEER intervention added to SAU compared to SAU alone. A total of 284 participants will be recruited from the municipal social services in the participating municipalities and by self-referrals and randomly assigned to (1) the PEER intervention added to SAU or (2) SAU. The primary outcome is a self-assessed personal recovery (Questionnaire about the process of recovery (QPR-15)) at end of the intervention. The secondary outcomes are self-assessed empowerment (Empowerment Scale Rogers (ESR)), quality of life (The Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of life (MANSA)), and functioning (Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS)).

Discussion: This trial will test a new community-based peer-support intervention, and if the intervention proves to be effective, the goal is that future integration of this intervention will improve individual recovery and mental health and reduce the societal burden of individuals seeking municipal social support and/or mental health services.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04639167. Registered on Nov. 19, 2020.

Keywords: Community-based; Mental health difficulties; Mental vulnerability; Peer support; Personal recovery; Randomized controlled trial; Volunteer peers.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

© 2022. The Author(s).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of participant timeline
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schedule of enrolment, interventions, and assessments

References

    1. Repper J, Carter T. A review of the literature on peer support in mental health services. J Ment Heal. 2011;20(4):392–411.
    1. Eiken S, Campbell J. Medicaid coverage of peer support for people with mental illness : Available research and state examples. 2008.
    1. Repper J, Aldridge B, Gilfoyle S, Gillard S, Perkins R, Rennison J. Peer Support Workers: a practical guide to implementation. 2013.
    1. Chinman M, George P, Dougherty RH, Daniels AS, Ghose SS, Swift A, et al. Peer Support Services for Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses: Assessing the Evidence. Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65(4):429–441.
    1. Lloyd-Evans B, Mayo-Wilson E, Harrison B, Istead H, Brown E, Pilling S, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of peer support for people with severe mental illness. BMC Psychiatry. 2014;14(1):39.
    1. Fuhr DC, Salisbury TT, De Silva MJ, Atif N, van Ginneken N, Rahman A, et al. Effectiveness of peer-delivered interventions for severe mental illness and depression on clinical and psychosocial outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49(11):1691–1702.
    1. Walker G, Bryant W. Peer support in adult mental health services: a metasynthesis of qualitative findings. Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2013;36(1):28–34.
    1. Davidson L, Chinman M, Kloos B, Weingarten R, Stayner D, Tebes JK. Peer support among individuals with severe mental illness: A review of the evidence. Clin Psychol Pract. 1999;6(2):165–187.
    1. Pitt V, Lowe D, Hill S, Prictor M, Hetrick SE, Ryan R, et al. Consumer-providers of care for adult clients of statutory mental health services. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(3):CD004807.
    1. Chien WT, Clifton AV, Zhao S, Lui S. Peer support for people with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. John Wiley and Sons Ltd; 2019;4(4):CD010880.
    1. Chan AW, Tetzlaff JM, Gøtzsche PC, Altman DG, Mann H, Berlin JA, et al. SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: guidance for protocols of clinical trials. BMJ. 2013;346:e7586.
    1. Boutron I, Altman DG, Moher D, Schulz KF, Ravaud P, CONSORT NPT Group CONSORT Statement for Randomized Trials of Nonpharmacologic Treatments: A 2017 Update and a CONSORT Extension for Nonpharmacologic Trial Abstracts. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167(1):40–47.
    1. MIND Leeds - for better mental health [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 7]. Available from:
    1. Ludman EJ, Simon GE, Grothaus LC, Richards JE, Whiteside U, Stewart C. Organized Self-Management Support Services for Chronic Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychiatr Serv. 2016;67(1):29–36.
    1. Johnson S, Lamb D, Marston L, Osborn D, Mason O, Henderson C, et al. Peer-supported self-management for people discharged from a mental health crisis team: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet (London, England). 2018;392(10145):409–418.
    1. Gillard S, Gibson SL, Holley J, Lucock M. Developing a change model for peer worker interventions in mental health services: a qualitative research study. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2015;24(5):435–445.
    1. Osborne SP, Radnor Z, Strokosch K. Co-Production and the Co-Creation of Value in Public Services: A suitable case for treatment? Public Manag Rev. 2016;18(5):639–653.
    1. Pestoff V. Collective Action and the Sustainability of Co-Production. Public Manag Rev. 2014;16(3):383–401.
    1. Leamy M, Bird V, Le BC, Williams J, Slade M. Conceptual framework for personal recovery in mental health: systematic review and narrative synthesis. Br J Psychiatry. 2011;199(6):445–452.
    1. Haber D. Life review: Implementation, theory, research, and therapy. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2006;63:153–171.
    1. Hayes SC. Behavior Therapy. Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy; 2004. Acceptance and commitment therapy, relational frame theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies; pp. 639–665.
    1. Anthony WA. Recovery from mental illness: The guiding vision of the mental health service system in the 1990s. Psychosoc Rehabil J. 1993;16(4):11–23.
    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. TRAUMA-INFORMED PEER SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV CURRICULUM TRAINER’S MANUAL [Internet]. Rockville, MD; 2018 [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: .
    1. Williams J, Leamy M, Pesola F, Bird V, Le Boutillier C, Slade M. Psychometric evaluation of the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR) Br J Psychiatry. 2015;207(6):551–555.
    1. Law H, Neil ST, Dunn G, Morrison AP. Psychometric properties of the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR) Schizophr Res. 2014;156(2–3):184–189.
    1. Rogers ES, Chamberlin J, Ellison ML, Crean T. A consumer-constructed scale to measure empowerment among users of mental health services. Psychiatr Serv. 1997;48(8):1042–1047.
    1. Mundt JC, Marks IM, Shear MK, Greist JH. The Work and Social Adjustment Scale: A simple measure of impairment in functioning. Br J Psychiatry. 2002;180(MAY):461–464.
    1. Priebe S, Huxley P, Knight S, Evans S. Application and results of the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA) Int J Soc Psychiatry. 1999;45(1):7–12.
    1. Luszczynska A, Scholz U, Schwarzer R. The General Self-Efficacy Scale: Multicultural Validation Studies. J Psychol. 2005;139(5):439–457.
    1. Snyder CR, Sympson SC, Ybasco FC, Borders TF, Babyak MA, Higgins RL. Development and Validation of the State Hope Scale. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1996;70(2):321–335.
    1. Hawley L, Gerber D, Pretz C, Morey C, Whiteneck G. Initial validation of personal self-advocacy measures for individuals with acquired brain injury. Rehabil Psychol. 2016;61(3):308–316.
    1. Lund R, Nielsen LS, Henriksen PW, Schmidt L, Avlund K, Christensen U. Content validity and reliability of the copenhagen social relations questionnaire. J Aging Health. 2014;26(1):128–150.
    1. Dehmahdi N, Law H, Pyle M, Byrne R, Jones W, Peel H, Morrison AP. Estimating the minimum important difference for the questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR): an anchor-based approach. Psychosis. 2021;9:1–11.
    1. Dupont WD, Plummer WD. Power and sample size calculations. A review and computer program. Control Clin Trials. 1990;11(2):116–128.
    1. Russinova Z, Rogers ES, Gagne C, Bloch P, Drake KM, Mueser KT. A randomized controlled trial of a peer-run antistigma photovoice intervention. Psychiatr Serv. 2014;65(2):242–246.
    1. Van Gestel-Timmermans H, Brouwers EPM, Van Assen MALM, Van Nieuwenhuizen C. Effects of a peer-run course on recovery from serious mental illness: A randomized controlled trial. Psychiatr Serv. 2012;63(1):54–60.
    1. Phillips R, Schneider J, Molosankwe I, Leese M, Foroushani PS, Grime P, et al. Randomized controlled trial of computerized cognitive behavioural therapy for depressive symptoms: Effectiveness and costs of a workplace intervention. Psychol Med. 2014;44(4):741–752.
    1. Harris PA, Taylor R, Thielke R, Payne J, Gonzalez N, Conde JG. Research electronic data capture (REDCap)-A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. J Biomed Inform. 2009;42(2):377–381.
    1. Harris PA, Taylor R, Minor BL, Elliott V, Fernandez M, O’Neal L, et al. The REDCap consortium: building an international community of software platform partners. J Biomed Inform. Academic Press Inc.; 2019;95:103208.
    1. Pitt L, Kilbride M, Nothard S, Welford M, Morrison AP. Researching recovery from psychosis: A user-led project. Psychiatr Bull. 2007;31(2):55–60.
    1. Shanks V, Williams J, Leamy M, Bird VJ, Le Boutillier C, Slade M. Measures of personal recovery: A systematic review. Psychiatr Serv. 2013;64(10):974–980.
    1. Rogers ES, Ralph RO, Salzer MS. Validating the empowerment scale with a multisite sample of consumers of mental health services. Psychiatr Serv. 2010;61(9):933–936.
    1. Björkman T, Svensson B. Quality of life in people with severe mental illness. Reliability and validity of the Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA) Nord J Psychiatry. 2005;59(4):302–306.
    1. Thandi G, Fear NT, Chalder T. A comparison of the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) across different patient populations using Rasch analysis and exploratory factor analysis. J Psychosom Res. 2017;1(92):45–48.
    1. Scholz U, Doña BG, Sud S, Schwarzer R. Is general self-efficacy a universal construct? Psychometric findings from 25 countries. Eur J Psychol Assess. 2002;18(3):242–251.

Source: PubMed

Patrocinadores e Colaboradores

Condições médicas

Intervenções de drogas

3
Se inscrever