Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Aug 2015
Effects of Providing Peer Support on Diabetes Management in People With Type 2 Diabetes.
We examined the effects of participating in a "train-the-trainer" program and being a peer supporter on metabolic and cognitive/psychological/behavioral parameters in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. ⋯ Patients with diabetes who engaged in providing ongoing peer support to other patients with diabetes improved their self-care while maintaining glycemic control over 4 years.
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Annals of family medicine · Aug 2015
What Peer Mentoring Adds to Already Good Patient Care: Implementing the Carpeta Roja Peer Mentoring Program in a Well-Resourced Health Care System.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a peer support program on the health outcomes of patients already receiving well-organized, comprehensive diabetes care. ⋯ The addition of peer mentoring to already well-organized comprehensive diabetes care does not improve outcomes. However, findings suggest that the impact of the program extends to members of the participants' families, which is an intriguing finding that deserves further study.
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Peer supporters are recognized by various designations-community health workers, promotores de salud, lay health advisers-and are community members who work for pay or as volunteers in association with health care systems or nonprofit community organizations and often share ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status with the mentees that they serve. Although emerging evidence demonstrates the efficacy of peer support at the community level, the adoption and implementation of this resource into patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) is still under development. To accelerate that integration, this article addresses three major elements of peer support interventions: the functions and features of peer support, a framework and programmatic strategies for implementation, and fiscal models that would support the sustained viability of peer support programs within PCMHs. ⋯ Programmatic strategies that can be useful in developing peer support programs within PCMHs include peer coaching or mentoring, group self-management training, and programs designed around the telephone and information technology. Fiscal models for peer support programs include linkages with hospital or health care systems, service- or community-based nonprofit organizations, and partnerships between health care systems and community groups. Peer support promises to enrich PCMHs by activating patients in their self-care, providing culturally sensitive outreach, and opening the way for partnerships with community-based organizations.