Peer support takes many forms. There is no one right way to deliver peer support. And that was the topic at hand this past October during the Peers for Progress 2010 International Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
More than 60 representatives of peer support programs and organizations came from around the world to exchange ideas about the development, application, and contributions of peer support as a critical part of prevention and global health care. Including 14 Peers for Progress evaluation grantees and more than 40 groups involved in peer support, attendees bonded despite language barriers and cultural differences, as well as varied contexts and topics. Conference attendees sought to:
- Examine and exchange ideas regarding what we know about peer support, its application, and contribution to health promotion and health care;
- Facilitate communication and global networking among peer support programs for quality improvement; and
- Identify strategies for dissemination and advocacy of peer support as a routine part of health care and prevention for all people.
In addition to grantees from Australia, Cameroon, Hong Kong, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, and the United States, this meeting included leaders in peer support projects from Cambodia, Chile, China, India, Iraq, Malaysia, Netherlands, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Participants formed a learning community of co-experts across various content (e.g., diabetes, cancer, HIV, maternal and child health, mental health) and contexts (e.g., rural populations, women, ethnic minorities) to identify and discuss critical aspects of peer
support interventions, their effects, dissemination, and sustainability. Ultimately, Peers for Progress, in collaboration with a broader network of peer support affiliates, aims to raise the visibility of evidence for and benefits of peer support programs, not just as affordable health care for poor people, but as good health care for all people.
Reprinted from the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation 2011 Spring Bulletin. A PDF of the Bulletin is available on the AAFP website.