Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40928948›Full record

ArticleHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2025

Navigating Challenges in Peer Support Work: Perspectives of Peer Supporters From a Stepped Care Intervention for Older Adults With Depressive Symptoms.

Eric Kwok Lun Yiu, Stephanie Ming Yin Wong, Jessica Kang Qi Lee, Zuna Loong Yee Ng, Dara Kiu Yi Leung, Wai Chi Chan, Gloria Hoi Yan Wong, Terry Yat Sang Lum

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In one paragraph

Article in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Eric Kwok Lun YiuDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Stephanie Ming Yin WongDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9535-9846
Jessica Kang Qi LeeDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Zuna Loong Yee NgDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Dara Kiu Yi LeungDepartment of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Wai Chi ChanDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Gloria Hoi Yan WongSchool of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Terry Yat Sang LumDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Funding

This study was supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for The University of Hong Kong for the Project JC JoyAge (AR190017, AR24AG100291).
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundServing as peer supporters in later life has been linked to a greater sense of purpose and meaning in life. How the wisdom of older adults could be leveraged to improve the implementation of peer support work, however, has rarely been considered. We aimed to examine the perspectives of peer supporters in this study, including the challenges they encountered in practice and the strategies they developed to navigate their roles.

methodsA series of semi-structured focus group interviews was conducted with 23 peer supporters (mean age = 66.2 years, SD = 7.1) in a community-based stepped-care intervention service for depressive symptoms in older adults aged 60 years and older in Hong Kong. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and discussed with peer supporters to ensure relevance.

resultsThree themes emerged to reflect challenges faced in peer support work: role ambiguity, boundary setting, and engaging with service users. To address these challenges, centring attention on meaningful engagement with users, managing expectations of users regarding the scope of peer support, and expanding the social networks of both users and peer supporters were prioritised. The importance of professional development through continuous learning and mentorship programmes, as well as creating user-centred environments, was also highlighted. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings suggest that older adults have the potential to actively navigate through service challenges by leveraging their internal capabilities and external resources. Integrating these insights into future peer support service design could enhance service delivery and empower older adults to become active agents of employment and care, thereby contributing to productive and healthy ageing initiatives. PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The JoyAge Peer Support network adopts a co-production and partnership approach to designing all services and research. The present work was part of an effort to ensure that the lived experiences and wisdom of peer supporters could be reflected in future service design. All findings of this study were discussed with peer supporters to ensure their relevance.

Indexed as

DepressionPeer GroupSocial SupportAgedFemaleFocus GroupsHong KongHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedQualitative Researchdepressionhealthy ageingmental health servicespeer supportproductive ageing

Identifiers

PMID40928948
PMCPMC12422112

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.