A peer is a person who has had a similar experience to another person or people, such as the experience of living with diabetes or mental distress that has had a significant impact on a person’s life. They can be in paid or unpaid employment, and use their experience to benefit others in the work they do. In New Zealand, there are several examples of peer support programmes and initiatives, mostly in the area of mental health.
However, programmes such as the Stanford Chronic Disease Self Management Education Programme are designed to be led by ‘peer leaders’ who share their own lived experience with participants as part of the facilitation process. Peer support workers, whether paid or unpaid, usually work within a structured programme and generally receive training and supervision as part of their role.
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Peer and social support for healthcare providers
Key points about peer and social support
- People, families, whanau and communities can play a key role in managing their own health and wellbeing.
- Peer and social support for self-management, especially when peers are identified by patients, such as friends and family rather than strangers, has been found to help with achieving positive health outcomes.
- This section includes a range of topics around peer and social support and options for training, mentoring and supervising.
An individual's social support comes from their own unique social network. The quality of these networks can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people living with long-term conditions. There is an increasing body of evidence demonstrating that an individual's social network can enable people to self-manage, maintain social integration and individual identity.
Unlike peer support, social support is informal, and quality will vary from person to person. Whilst the value of an individual’s social network is becoming increasingly recognised as having an impact on health and wellbeing outcomes, particularly for people with complex co-morbidities, little is often known, shared, or recorded by the primary care team.
Read more about social support and care maps(external link).
Social prescribing has become increasingly prevalent in the UK. It is a way of linking people with social supports in the community. GPs can refer patients to link workers who work with people to find out their needs and refer them to appropriate organisations and services. Different training programmes are available to support the social prescribing initiatives and ‘link workers’ come from a wide variety of backgrounds and roles, including, GP receptionist, health coach, peer support workers (including volunteers) etc. Read more(external link).
Here's a series of videos explaining social prescribing for health professionals.
1. Video: Helen Stokes-Lampard discussed social prescribing and the current NHS landscape
Watch video with transcript here(external link).
(The King's Fund - Helen Stokes-Lampard, UK, 2017)
2. Video: The East Merton Social Prescribing Project: Advice on how to establish a link worker scheme (2018)
(Healthy London Partnership, UK, 2018)
3. Video: Social prescribing and self care master by NHS England
(NHS England and NHS Improvement, UK, 2018)
Peer support can range from informal peer networks or buddy systems to formal peer support programmes. In New Zealand, some examples include:
An individual's social support comes from their own unique social network. The quality of these networks can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people living with long-term conditions. There is an increasing body of evidence demonstrating that an individual's social network can enable people to self-manage, maintain social integration and individual identity.
Unlike peer support, social support is informal, and quality will vary from person to person. Whilst the value of an individual’s social network is becoming increasingly recognised as having an impact on health and wellbeing outcomes, particularly for people with complex co-morbidities, little is often known, shared, or recorded by the primary care team.
Jessica Young, a researcher at the University of Otago has been leading some work on the development and testing of ‘care maps’ in primary care settings. A care map is a tool designed to facilitate a conversation and capture information about a person’s social network and provide a holistic view of the person’s lived experience and the effects of care from different sources. To find out more about Jessica’s work social networks and care maps watch Jessica's webinar(external link). An exercise in developing a care map has been included in the health coach training programme.
There are numerous organisations providing peer training, mentoring and supervision such as the groups listed below.
- Offer a range of peer support services, mentoring, supervision etc.
- Training course - 30 hours over 6 weeks. Based on Intentional Peer Support Training Programme.
- Based in Christchurch and Canterbury
Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Peer Support)(external link)
- Community Support Services ITO Limited
National Certificate in Mental Health and Addiction Support (Level 4)(external link)
- 32-week course from Future Skills Academy, Auckland
New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Peer Support) (Level 4)(external link)
- 1 year full-time course from Whitireia New Zealand
Mind and Body Consultants(external link)
- Leaders in the provision of workshops, peer-developed resources and consultancy for peer services in NZ.
Social prescribing(external link) Healthify
What is social prescribing?(external link) The King's Fund
Helen Stokes-Lampard - Social prescribing and the current NHS landscape(external link) The King's Fund
Davidson, L., Bellamy, C., Kimberly, G. and Miller, R. (2012). Peer support among persons with severe mental illnesses: a review of the evidence and experienc(external link)e. World Psychiatry 11, 123– 128.
Engaging with consumers: A guide for DHBs(external link)
Developed by the Health Quality & Safety Commission, this resource is a practical guide to help New Zealand district health boards, and the health and disability services they fund, to engage better with consumers. It covers consumer engagement in the design and delivery of services, as well as the development of policy and governance procedures. The guide provides evidence about consumer engagement – both nationally and internationally, shares the successes and learnings of New Zealand providers about how they engage with consumers, and promotes good practice throughout the health and disability sector.
Peer Support Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand (2011)(external link)
Authors: Dr Anne Scott, Dr Carolyn Doughty and Hamuera Kahi, University of Canterbury
- Study summarising 14 peer support services around NZ
- Looks at recovery and peer support, mutuality and trust, self-determination, Kaupapa Māori approaches to peer support, Practice issues such as risk and much more.
Service user, consumer and peer workforce(external link)
Published by Te Pou, MidCentral DHB and Northern Region Alliance
A guide aimed at planners and funders of mental health and addiction services.
28 pages
Power of peer support services (in mental health & addiction)(external link)
Mental Health Commission, NZ
- "A non-clinical intervention for people experiencing mental distress and/or an addiction.
- Based on a formal therapeutic relationship between peers (people who have experienced similar adversity).
- Provide support BEFORE a crisis. Non judgemental and personal."
"The Peer Zone employees, coordinators and associates use their lived experience of mental distress or addiction to inform their work and change the world. They now run a range of workshops, have developed an online toolkit and provide consultancy services regionally, nationally and internationally.
Building peer support programmes to manage chronic disease: 7 models to success(external link)
California Healthcare Foundation
"Well-designed & executed peer support interventions empower patients to improve the management of their health & provide meaningful opportunities for patients to help others facing similar challenges."
Emerge Aotearoa Peer Support Services(external link)
"Emerge Aotearoa provides a wide range of community-based mental health, addiction, disability support and social housing services nationwide. We believe that everyone is capable of living full and rich lives in their communities of choice. In every aspect of our work we are committed to helping our service users be the best they can be."
Helping high school students build student leaders who support junior students(external link)
NZ Peer Support Trust
"The Peer Support Programme offers secondary schools the opportunity to provide new entrants to secondary school a structured introduction to school under the guidance of senior students who are trained as leaders."
Credits: Healthify editorial team. Healthify is brought to you by Health Navigator Charitable Trust.
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