The Recovery Mentor Intervention - Evaluation of peer support in a mental health service (REMIND)

Cecilie Høgh EGMOSE^1,2,3, Chalotte Heinsvig POULSEN¹, Lene Falgaard EPLOV¹, Julie MIDTGAARD^2,3

¹Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health (CORE), Mental Health Centre Copenhagen. Copenhagen, Denmark., Copenhagen, Denmark
²University of Copenhage, Copenhagen, Denmark
³Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health Care (CARMEN), Mental Health Center Glostrup, , Glostrup, Denmark

Introduction:

Peer support has found its way into the mental health services in Denmark. In the mental health service in the Capital Region, Recovery mentors (peer support workers) have been employed since 2023. The mental health services plan to hire recovery mentors across the entire organization and needs a higher degree of coordination and alignment of the peer support delivered across services. Therefore, an evaluation of the current evaluation is needed to qualify the peer support delivered. The aim of the evaluation of the Recovery mentor intervention is to develop a program theory for the intervention, investigate mechanisms of change, and potentially improve the intervention if needed.

Methods:

The evaluation is designed using the Medical Research Council framework, a realistic evaluation underpinned by critical realism, and is carried out as a PhD study. Phase one of the evaluation will describe and gather information about the current intervention in addition to existing knowledge about peer support. Furthermore, a systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis about mechanisms of change will be conducted. This will create a basis for developing an initial program theory. Phase two of the evaluation, will test the program theory and evaluate the intervention through a qualitative study using realistic interviews with patients and Recovery mentors. They will be used to identify the mechanisms of change in the respective contexts to investigate what works for whom and under what circumstances.

Results:

The results from phases one and two will be used to revisit and refine the program theory. The

refined program theory will make up the basis for refining the Recovery mentor intervention and making recommendations.

Perspectives:

The evaluation will add to the existing knowledge of peer support internationally and potentially increase the quality of peer support provided in the mental health service in the Capital Region of Denmark.