About This Project

The use of peer support workers is an empowering mental health intervention deemed an evidence based practice by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Effective implementation of this method requires knowledge of what facilitates optimal work environments for peers. Our research will develop and test a survey to measure barriers and facilitators of effective peer support work and then administer the tool to a national sample.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

I have published a great deal of work on advancing the Mental Health Recovery Model. The use of certified peers/peer support workers has been deemed to be an evidence based practice by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, yet there is research that shows professional resistance to the effective use of such workers. In 2016, our research team published the results of a qualitative study on the barriers and facilitators that peer support workers encountered in trying to effectively do their jobs Our current project builds on that work by translating the qualitative findings into items for a survey that can be tested and ultimately administered to a large national sample of peer workers.

What is the significance of this project?

This project seeks to advance the implementation of certified peers/peer support workers in mental health. The knowledge that is developed will help program planners and recovery advocates in understanding what potential barriers pose a threat to the employment and effectiveness of peer support workers. We hope that such knowledge can aid in the progression of the optimal use of a very effective tool to aid recovery.

What are the goals of the project?

Our goals are to: 1. develop a quantitative survey that taps into the work experiences of certified peers in order to uncover the barriers and facilitators of their work, then psychometrically test survey tool, and administer the finalized survey to a national sample in order to describe the common barriers to effective work that certified peers encounter and the common facilitators of effective work. The psychometric testing will test the survey tool's reliability and construct validity will be assessed using factor analysis.