ArticleBMC geriatrics2022
'It was the deepest level of companionship': peer-to-peer experience of supporting community-dwelling older people with depression - a qualitative study.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of the barriers and facilitators to lived experience involvement in mental health services.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Exploring the Mediating Role of Working Alliance in a Peer Support Intervention for Late-Life Depression.Research square · 2026Article
- Recovery, quality of life and everyday occupations among older and younger adults with severe mental illness - a comparative cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Peer-Led Models Focussed on Emotional Distress and Suicide Prevention: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Leveraging No-Code Digital Platforms for Designing an Integrated Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Intervention With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mental Health Care: Development and Usability Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Navigating Challenges in Peer Support Work: Perspectives of Peer Supporters From a Stepped Care Intervention for Older Adults With Depressive Symptoms.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Exploring the Use of Sea Swimming as an Intervention With Young People With Mental Health Challenges: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Article
- Hybrid-delivered community psychoeducation for people aged 50 and older: A mixed-method evaluation and lesson learned.Internet interventions · 2024Article
- Mental health literacy among older adults in Shanghai: a descriptive qualitative study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Influencing factors of anxiety and depression of discharged COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, China.PloS one · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is an ample body of literature examining the experiences and outcomes of peer support services for mental health recovery in western countries. However, formal peer support is only recently adapted and piloted to alleviate depression among older people, and little is known about how the peer-to-peer model might be lived out in the older Chinese population. This qualitative study investigated peer supporters' (PS) perspectives of their roles and experiences of rendering formal peer support to community-dwelling older adults at risk of or living with depression in Hong Kong.
methodsThe study adopted a qualitative design. Five semi-structured focus groups were conducted with 27 trained peer supporters between ages 54-74 (21 females and 6 males) who had provided peer-to-peer support to older adults at risk of or living with depression in the community for at least 12 months. Thematic analysis was employed to derive content and meanings from the focus group transcripts.
resultsParticipants' mean age was 61.9 years; two-thirds of them were retired and the rest still engaged in part-time or full-time employment. Four themes were identified in relations to the roles and experiences in rendering the peer support services: (1) peerness in health and age-related lived experiences; (2) companionship, social and emotional ties beyond formal support; (3) meaningful roles to facilitate older people's functional ability; and (4) hopes and actions against the undesirable outcomes of aging. Being a PS might provide meaningful roles for persons in transition to or living in late adulthood, and enable community-dwelling older adults with depression to maintain functional ability. On the other hand, defining the concept of 'peer' beyond the shared experience of mental distress, ensuring a healthy boundary between the peers and the service users, maintaining a careful balance between time-limited formal support and stable social ties, and providing self-management training and on-going support appear crucial.
conclusionsThis study of PS' perspectives and experiences offer insights into the age-specific dimension of the peer relationship. Despite the promising effects it might offer, careful implementation of peer support among older adults is warranted to safeguard against the ensuing loss of meaningful social ties and the potential emotional distress.
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