Nine-Month Longitudinal Impact of Peer Support Workers’ Recovery Attributes on Service Users’ Recovery in Hong Kong

• Published in: Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) Vol. 72; no. 11; pp. 1282 - 1287
• Main Authors: Mak, Winnie W. S, Fu, Amanda C. M, Auyeung, Larry, Cheng, Winnie W. L, Chan, Randolph C. H, Tse, Samson S. K, Yau, Sania S. W, Ho, Kimmy, Chan, Sau Kam, Wong, Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychiatric Association 01.11.2021; American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc
• Subjects: Demonstrations & protests; Mental disorders; Mental health care; Recovery (Medical); Regression analysis; Hong Kong China; China; Recovery; Community mental health services
• ISSN: 1075-2730; 1557-9700
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000006

Objective:In this study, the authors investigated the longitudinal effect of the recovery attributes of peer support workers (PSWs) on users of mental health services in Hong Kong over a 9-month period.Methods:Recovery attributes were measured among PSWs (N=26) employed by four local nongovernmental organizations before their commencement of service. The recovery-related outcomes of regular service users (N=181) were measured every 3 months for 9 months. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analyses with restricted maximum likelihood were used to analyze the possible association of PSWs’ qualities on service users’ recovery outcomes. The Holm-Bonferroni method was used to adjust for p values to account for multiple comparisons.Results:Results showed that levels of hope and self-esteem among PSWs were statistically significantly associated with improvements in hope and empowerment among service users over time.Conclusions:PSWs’ recovery attributes may benefit service users’ personal recovery. Future exploration on the specific pathways of recovery attributes of PSWs on service users’ recovery is suggested.