Interprofessional Collaboration and Peer Mentors for Bowel Education in Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Consultation

Evidence shows that having a bowel management program prevents rehospitalization postacute rehabilitation discharge for persons with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Peer mentors have been used to assist patients in managing their care.

The aim of the study was to illustrate how interprofessional collaboration led to utilizing resources of the inpatient rehabilitation facility's peer mentor program and incorporating peer mentors into bowel education for persons with SCI.

A descriptive case review of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) project, using an eight-item Likert scale evaluation survey with three open-ended questions to assess the utility of incorporating peer mentors into bowel education.

Twenty-seven of the 28 participants responded to the survey. Results showed that the education program was useful, should be continued, and include the peer mentors. Responses from open-ended questions included themes related to knowledge, adherence, and taking charge of one's own care. Interprofessional collaboration and involvement of peer mentors as copresenters in SCI bowel education were feasible.