• Joanne McPeake, Theodore J Iwashyna, Leanne M Boehm, Elizabeth Hibbert, Rita N Bakhru, Anthony J Bastin, Brad W Butcher, Tammy L Eaton, Wendy Harris, Aluko A Hope, James Jackson, Annie Johnson, Janet A Kloos, Karen A Korzick, Joel Meyer, Ashley Montgomery-Yates, Mark E Mikkelsen, Andrew Slack, Dorothy Wade, Mary Still, Giora Netzer, Ramona O Hopkins, Tara Quasim, Carla M Sevin, and Kimberley J Haines.
• Joanne McPeake is a nurse consultant, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Scotland, United Kingdom and an honorary senior clinical lecturer, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, and a research fellow, THIS Institute, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
• Am. J. Crit. Care. 2021 Mar 1; 30 (2): 145-149.

BackgroundAfter critical illness, patients are often left with impairments in physical, social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Peer support interventions have been implemented internationally to ameliorate these issues.ObjectiveTo explore what patients believed to be the key mechanisms of effectiveness of peer support programs implemented during critical care recovery.MethodsIn a secondary analysis of an international qualitative data set, 66 telephone interviews with patients were undertaken across 14 sites in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to understand the effect of peer support during recovery from critical illness. Prevalent themes were documented with framework analysis.ResultsMost patients who had been involved in peer support programs reported benefit. Patients described 3 primary mechanisms: (1) sharing experiences, (2) care debriefing, and (3) altruism.ConclusionPeer support is a relatively simple intervention that could be implemented to support patients during recovery from critical illness. However, more research is required into how these programs can be implemented in a safe and sustainable way in clinical practice.©2021 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

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