ArticleHarm reduction journal2018
From client to co-worker: a case study of the transition to peer work within a multi-disciplinary hepatitis c treatment team in Toronto, Canada.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- "You are helping from the heart not just from the head": a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis of the experiences of peer workers working with people experiencing homelessness and substance use.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Operationalizing the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to build and support the lived experience workforce in direct health service provision.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Pooled it
- Provision of peer support at the intersection of homelessness and problem substance use services: a systematic 'state of the art' review.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Article
- Beyond "Peer Worker": Centering Experiential Expertise Within Interprofessional Mental Health Teams.Nursing & health sciences · 2026Article
- Peer Interventions for Hepatitis C Testing and Treatment in OECD Countries: A Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of viral hepatitis · 2026Article
- The Social Drama of Mental Health Professionals who are also Former Mental Health Service Users.Culture, medicine and psychiatry · 2025Article
- Navigating transitions into, through, and beyond peer worker roles: insider insights from the Supporting Harm Reduction through Peer Support (SHARPS) study.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Peer Workers in Co-production and Co-creation in Mental Health and Substance Use Services: A Scoping Review.Administration and policy in mental health · 2023Article
- Cohort Profile: The Assessing Economic Transitions (ASSET) Study-A Community-Based Mixed-Methods Study of Economic Engagement among Inner-City Residents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- "Running myself ragged": stressors faced by peer workers in overdose response settings.Harm reduction journal · 2021Article
- Prescribing trends in direct-acting antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C in Ontario, Canada.Canadian liver journal · 2021Article
- Peer Support in Mental Health: Literature Review.JMIR mental health · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the integration of peer workers into harm reduction services, there is little documentation regarding the experience of this integration or of models in which peers are fully integrated as members of health care teams. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the transition from client to support worker from the perspective of two individuals who received treatment for hepatitis C at a multi-disciplinary, community-based program, grounded in a harm reduction approach to substance use.
methodsA participatory case study design was selected. Interviews were conducted with two current peer workers who were also involved in the study design, analysis and writing. Data was coded and analyzed using an inductive approach to identify emergent themes.
resultsFive primary themes emerged during our analysis of the facilitators and challenges of the transition from client to support worker: (1) the role of prior experience, (2) changes in substance use practices, (3) shifts in relationships with community members and friends, (4) supportive organizational and structural factors, and (5) role transition as a journey. In some cases, themes overlapped and contained elements that were both facilitating and challenging.
conclusionsThe transition from client to co-worker is a gradual process and one that is supported by, and in turn helps to support, a number of other personal transitions. The cases examined here suggest that a model of peer employment with broad qualification criteria, sufficient transition timelines, flexible job responsibilities, a solid investment in the inclusion of people with lived experience, and a harm reduction framework will support successful integration of current and/or former clients into health care teams.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.