Name: Athena Dianne B.

Aguillon Block: 2-NG

Date of submission: August 22, 2022

A systematic review of peer-supported

interventions for health promotion and
disease prevention

SUMMARY

Prior research has focused on specific peer roles (e.g., peer support) or health/wellness
domains (e.g., exercise/diet), or has aggregated impacts across roles and domains. We
aimed to perform a systematic review that categorizes and evaluates the impacts of peer
interventions for health and wellbeing based on peer role, intervention type, and
outcomes. To graphically collect and summarize previous studies, we employ evidence
mapping. We looked for English-language randomized control trials in the PubMed and
WorldCat databases (2005 to 2015) and the New York Academy of Medicine Grey
Literature Report (1999 to 2016). From 116 randomized controlled trials, we retrieved
research design, study participants, kind of intervention(s), peer role(s), outcomes
examined and measures employed, and effects. Maps were produced to show the
evidence by intervention kind, peer role, outcome type, and significant vs null or negative
impacts.
Peer interventions have more negative than positive effects, with notable exceptions:
group-based interventions that use peers as educators or group facilitators commonly
improve knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions; peer educators also commonly
improve social health/connectedness and engagement. Peer counseling and dyadic peer
support encouraged behavior change, and the impacts on physical health outcomes are
positive. Evidence maps can be used by programs intending to employ peers in public
health campaigns to discover initiatives that have already showed favorable outcomes.
Those attempting to achieve health outcomes may benefit from describing the processes
by which they anticipate their program will produce these benefits, as well as the linked
proximal outcomes for future evaluations.

REACTION
As I had a thorough reading with the journal article that I chose, I came to know that the
public health and preventive medicine has a history of using peers to achieve the aims of
preventing the onset of disease, the severity or duration of disease, or adverse
consequences associated with disease. It is also stated that there have been programs
aimed for those suffering from severe mental illnesses, members of racial and ethnic
minority groups, and new mothers. As I came to know about it, there has been an increase
in programs incorporating peers to assist service personnel, veterans, and their families
in coping with the problems of serving in combat zones or transitioning from military to
civilian life. Peer involvement in health-related activities has empirical backing; a recent
study indicated that such interventions can improve behavior change among adults.
It is kind of fascinating wherein a comprehensive assessment of peer-involved
interventions across all health problems and groups believing that would help those
designing and implementing peer-based interventions for service members, veterans,
and their families. Moreover, to identify peer roles and construct a typology for mapping
the data to peer intervention types, we attempted to categorize the current research on
adult and adolescent peer interventions promoting health and wellness. Our method
makes use of evidence maps, a relatively new technique for performing systematic
reviews that can synthesize a huge body of research in a way that is more accessible and
user-friendly than standard systematic reviews and meta-analyses. For peer
interventions, as well as summaries to help evaluate the status of the evidence in order
to assist policy and clinical decision making.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Morris, D. M. (2018, February 24). MDPI. Retrieved from Preparing Physical and Occupational Therapists
to Be Health Promotion Practitioners: A Call for Action: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-
4601/15/2/392?fbclid=IwAR3LiLDYLofld__cNFsHXG5JkreULUiIqLQpcXNzIjoB1QuCPUhTRsWcKD
U

Science Direct. (2017, August). Retrieved from A systematic review of peer-supported interventions for
health promotion and disease prevention:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743517302128?fbclid=IwAR2YfTuBFqJ
KVmPEhDwGPUR64Vt8bnWluO_Pd8DCYRpcEG2cl1ClTrYMGGc#ab0005