Towards a Scope of Practice for Peer Support Workers in Addictions: A Community-Based Study Using Qualitative...

Area of Science:

• Addiction Care
• Healthcare Professions
• Peer Support

Background:

• Peer Support Workers (PSWs) are increasingly integrated into interprofessional healthcare teams.
• Clarity regarding the scope of practice for PSWs is essential for effective teamwork and service delivery in addiction care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and describe how PSWs understand their scope of practice within addiction care settings.
• To provide a clearer definition of the PSW role to facilitate collaboration with interprofessional teams.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study utilizing semi-structured interviews.
• 17 PSWs from diverse backgrounds were interviewed to explore their understanding of their professional boundaries and activities.

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: building client relationships, therapeutic client engagement, system navigation, providing client supplies, and professional development.
• PSWs possess a distinct understanding of their scope of practice and its effective application.
• A notable lack of workplace recognition for the defined PSW scope of practice was identified.

Conclusions:

• PSWs have a well-defined scope of practice that contributes to their effectiveness in addiction care.
• Establishing a preliminary description of the PSW scope of practice can foster better collaboration between PSWs and nurses.
• Enhanced understanding and recognition of the PSW role can lead to improved patient outcomes in addiction services.