The Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) recently reviewed current peer support programs across Australia and, in May 2018, published a practice review (Davy, Fisher and Wehbe, 2018). This report provided a range of key benefits of peer support for participants which included (p5):
- Opportunities for information and knowledge sharing;
- Confidence and capacity building;
- Social connection and emotional support;
- Access to a safe space for sharing and problem solving;
- Access to positive role modelling and leadership form peers; and,
- Increased participation in community life.
A range of broader benefits from peer support were also identified in the report, including: the development of an informed and engaged disability community, and awareness and capacity building within mainstream services and the wider community about inclusive strategies and engaging with people with disability and their families.
One implication from this review was the finding that ‘despite variation in peer support delivery, common values and principles of good practice peer support emerged’ (p1). Research participants included a range of leading peer support providers from across Australia with expertise and experience in this space. They described good practice peer support as:
- Flexible – responsive to participant needs and preferences;
- User-led – led by people with disability and families based around lived experience;
- Focused on capacity building – predominantly for individuals;
- Semi-structured and purposeful – organised with a blend of issues and information-based content along with informal or unstructured forms of support; and,
- Community facilitated and based/linked – reflecting the need for the peer program to be mediated or facilitated through a community organisation to enable participant connections, and also for the program to have a focus on forging links with others in the community (other peer groups, mainstream organisations, services and government).
1. Flexible and Responsive
Peer support delivery models are diverse and range from traditional groups of 5-15 participants, to online approaches, to large structured workshops (Davy et al, 2018). The practice review found that the ability of peer organisations to be responsive to participant needs and preferences is a key factor for their success.
This key ‘good practice guideline’ requires your peer organisation to be able to find out what it is your participants (members) want. The only way to do this effectively is gather evidence to know what it is they want, and whether you are meeting their needs. Having this knowledge will enable programs ‘to respond locally and at a grassroots level to what works’ for specific participants (Davy et al, 2018, p11).
Mentoring from JFA Purple Orange.
2. User-led
It emerged in the practice review that peer organisations shared common values and principles around good practice in this space and being user-led was one such component (Davy et al, 201). User-led peer support programs is described as being based on the lived experience of people living with disability and their families. Good peer support programs are driven and led by people with disability and families. Given this approach, it is likely to be uncommon for peer led organisations to have access to experts in areas such as ‘evaluation’ or performance assessment, hence the need for additional resources to be available to peer organisations (Davy et al, 2018).
Starting a New Peer Support Group from JFA Purple Orange.
3. Community facilitated
Peer support programs that are linked to a community organisation were found to be good practice in the recent practice review (Davy et al, 2018). This reflects the need for peer programs to be mediated or facilitated through a community organisation to enable participant connections, and also for the program to have a focus on forging links with others in the community (other peer groups, mainstream organisations, services and government). The strength of such a connection may be part of the peer organisation’s successful approach, and thus part of our evidence may need to inform us about whether such links are maintained and/or improved over time. Again, gathering evidence can assist peer organisations to ensure they are focussed on one aspect of peer support good practice.
The Benefits of Peer Support from JFA Purple Orange.
4. Focused on capacity building
Good practice peer support programs have a strong individual capacity component embedded in the design, with training provided to peer leaders to increase their knowledge and confidence (Davy et al, 2018). Individual capacity building is about ‘making sure people with disability have the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to set and achieve their goals’ (NDIA, 2016). As noted by our editorial consultant, Jala, who has assisted in the development of this package, peer support can bring significant benefits to the individual members:
Our consultant notes that peer support group members do not all start from the same place. The playing field isn’t always level for people living with disability, and the peer support space can provide a role in ensuring people are encouraged and supported to be the best versions of themselves possible. They can be provided with opportunities to develop their skills along with the confidence to believe in their abilities. Peer groups also provide members with the opportunity to be part of a ‘team’, providing opportunities to shift their lives beyond existing to one where they dream of making a real difference; not only in their own lives but more broadly across their community. Jala reflects on the role that her peer groups have had in her development and growth:
The endeavours she refers to enabled her to build confidence and skills when her peer group first accessed, then presented, and finally delivered, their own Conference (as shown in the photos below). Jala was able to overcome the social isolation so prevalent for many people living with disability and gain a belief in her own skills and capacity through her peer group valued roles.
Individual capacity building is a focus within the NDIA’s ILC Framework (November 2016). It is one of the ILC Activity Areas, meaning it is an area that ILC will fund. ILC outcomes include that people with disability ‘are connected and have the information they need’ for decision making, and that they ‘have the skills and confidence to participate and contribute to the community and protect their rights’ (NDIA, 2016, p.7). The review findings assert that peer support programs with this focus embedded into their program design are best practice. As such, gathering evidence on whether your peer support program has an impact on individual capacity is likely to not only ensure your success, it is also likely to be relevant to the NDIA and their need to have evidence that the programs they fund give real outcomes to people living with disability.
5. Semi-structured
The practice review (Davy et al, 2018) found that peer support programs ‘organised with a blend of issue and information-based content (at least at the beginning) and more informal or unstructured forms of support, to best engage participants’ (p.12). This finding means that in many peer organisations, success may be related to how well information and issues are planned and delivered within the peer program, and whether participants (members) are given a range of options and ways to engage with their program. For example, has appropriate consideration been given to access and the ways it may have increased complexities for people living with disability?
We also need to be clear that access is far broader than a physical environmental concept. It is important that peer groups provide a ‘culture of welcoming’ and their core design elements are tailored to their intended audience. For example, if you are offering peer groups to people living with psychosocial disability or brain injury, do you ensure there are quiet places for members who may need to step out of the group to recharge? Do you offer easy English materials to members living with intellectual disability? Do you offer translated materials and cultural sensitive scheduling and groups for members from CALD communities?
The need for a blend for good practice requires your peer organisation know what it is your participants (members) want in terms of this mix of options, and the only way to do this effectively is with a tailored evidence gathering approach.