Effectiveness of a Digital Peer Support Training Program Designed for Rapid Uptake Among Peer Support Specialists...

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Services
• Digital Health
• Peer Support

Background:

• The COVID-19 crisis spurred Medicaid reimbursement for telemental health, highlighting the need for standardized digital peer support (DPS) training.
• Digital peer support services offer a scalable solution to reduce service barriers and broaden the reach of peer support specialists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a 4-hour DPS training program on peer support specialists.
• To assess changes in participants' attitudes, beliefs, and abilities concerning DPS, as well as organizational readiness for implementation.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post survey design was employed with 75 peer support specialists.
• Paired samples t-tests and linear mixed models were used for data analysis to examine changes in key outcomes.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant improvements (p < .05) were observed in participants' readiness to use DPS, attitudes/beliefs towards DPS, and ability to engage in DPS.
• The training demonstrated positive effects across diverse groups of peer support specialists.

Conclusions:

• The 4-hour DPS training program provides a beneficial, standardized framework for equipping peer support specialists.
• Disseminating this short course can rapidly enhance the skills and resources needed to expand peer support services in digital environments, particularly post-COVID-19.