JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Initial training is essential for the mental health peer support worker (PSW) role. Training needs to incorporate recent advances in digital peer support and the increase of peer support work roles internationally. There is a lack of evidence concerning training topics which are important in initial peer support work training, and which training topics can be provided online.

Objective:

To establish the level of consensus about the content of initial training for mental health PSW and (b) the extent to which each identified topic can be delivered online.

Methods:

A systematised review was conducted to identify a preliminary list of training topics from existing training manuals. Three rounds of Delphi consultation (were then conducted to establish importance and online deliverability of each topic. In round 1, participants were asked to rate training topics for importance, and the topic list was refined. In rounds 2 and 3, participants were asked to rate each topic for importance and the extent to which it can be delivered online.

Results:

The systematised review identified 32 training manuals from 14 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Uganda, UK and USA. These were synthesised to develop a preliminary list of 18 topics. The Delphi consultation involved 110 participants (49 PSWs, 36 managers, 25 researchers) from 21 countries (14 high income, 5 middle income, 2 low income). After the Delphi consultation (round 1: n=110; round 2: n=89; round 3: n=82), 20 training topics (18 universal, 2 context-specific) were identified. There was strong consensus about the importance of five topics: Lived experience as an asset, Ethics, PSW wellbeing, PSW role focus on recovery and Communication, with moderate consensus for all other topics apart from Knowledge of mental health. There was no clear pattern of differences between PSW, manager and researcher ratings of importance, or between responses from participants in countries with different resource levels. All training topics were identified with strong consensus as being deliverable through blended online and face-to-face training (rating 1) or fully deliverable online with moderation (rating 2), with none identified as only deliverable through face-to-face teaching (rating 0) or deliverable fully online as a standalone course without moderation (rating 3). The range of median responses relating to online delivery was smaller for PSWs (1.0 to 1.5), indicating more consensus about the importance of some face-to-face training, than for managers (0 to 2.0) and researchers (1.0 to 2.0).

Conclusions:

The 20 identified training topics can be recommended for inclusion in the curriculum of initial training programmes for PSWs. Further research about online delivery of initial training is needed to understand the role of online moderation, and whether online training better prepares recipients to deliver online peer support.