OBJECTIVES To explore the experiences of women living with HIV in England who received or gave Mentor Mother (trained mother-to-mother) volunteer peer support during pregnancy and early motherhood. DESIGN Qualitative descriptive study, using semistructured, in-depth interviews and inductive thematic analysis, theoretically informed by phenomenological social psychology. SETTING A London-bas...

BACKGROUND Peer support programs have proliferated over the past decade, building on recovery oriented programming, yet relationships between peer support services and the costs to public programs have not been well described in literature. The purpose of this study is to fill gaps in the literature related to peer support programs and cost: lack of comparison groups, small sample sizes, and th...

BACKGROUND Mental health patients can feel anxious about losing the support of staff and patients when discharged from hospital and often discontinue treatment, experience relapse and readmission to hospital, and sometimes attempt suicide. The benefits of peer support in mental health services have been identified in a number of studies with some suggesting clinical and economic gains in patien...

BACKGROUND Peer support programs are associated with the provision of emotional, informational, and appraisal support. The benefits of peer support for women with breast cancer include reduced social isolation, enhanced coping, and access to information. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to conduct a pre- and post-program evaluation of a 7-week facilitated breast cancer peer support program...