1,721,529 research outputs found
A curated walk with peer researchers and their communities: Engaging a research journey toward meaningful impact
Full text linkAs a collective of peer researchers, scholars and members of a non-profit organisation, we have come together to share a curated walk through low-income communities in Cape Town and London. We do so with the intent of exploring the embodied and social experiences of walking and writing research differently through a collaborative process of listening, co-creating and sharing knowledge about the pedestrian mobilities of young men as mediated by the precarities of urban life. Our walking-writing practices are a hybrid of the actual practices of walking and potential for enacting change by valuing the everyday experiences and knowledge of peer researchers. The curated walk that we share guides readers on the research journey that we have taken together from the homes of those involved to the metaphorical centre of power in the cities/regions where our work takes place, with the intention of long-term, meaningful impact
A mixed-methods exploration of non-attendance at diabetes appointments using peer researchers
Full text linkBackground Non‐attendance at diabetes appointments is costly to the health service and linked with poorer patient outcomes. Objective Peer researchers aimed to conduct interviews and survey people who miss appointments about their beliefs and perceptions regarding their diabetes and diabetes appointments. Design A mixed‐methods cross‐sectional design with interviews conducted by peer researchers with diabetes and a questionnaire was used. Setting and participants Peer researchers conducted semi‐structured telephone interviews in one health board in Scotland with ten people who had missed diabetes appointments. A further 34 people who had missed appointments completed a questionnaire. The study was informed by two psychological theories (the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Self‐Regulation Model), and interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Interviewees planned to attend appointments but practical barriers, low perceived value of appointments and the feeling that diabetes had little impact upon their lives’ emerged as key reasons for missing appointments. Questionnaire data supported these findings and showed that respondents perceived diabetes to have only mildly serious consequence and cause limited concern and emotional impact. Participants’ understanding of their condition and perceptions of personal control and treatment control were low. Gender, perceived behavioural control and emotional representations were significantly associated with the number of appointments missed in the previous year. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of psychological variables in predicting non‐attendance at diabetes appointments and provide avenues for how non‐attendance might be tackled
Partnering with older people as peer researchers
Full text linkBrendan McCormack - ORCID: 0000-0001-8525-8905
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8525-8905Background: The term peer researcher describes the role of a person who has similar characteristics and can identify with the participant group in a research study. This paper describes the methodological approach and experiences of older people who were peer researchers on a study that explored the lived experience of people with dementia who lived in technology-enriched housing.Methods: Nine people responded to a public recruitment campaign through nongovernment organisations using multiple methods such as seniors' forums, development officers and social media. Mandatory training across 2 days was provided
and seven peer researchers successfully completed the training. A total of 22 interviews were undertaken by the seven peer researchers. The data collected from
the training feedback proforma (N = 7), interview debrief forms (N = 22) and final
evaluation forms (N = 5) were analysed using content analysis and triangulated.Results: Five core themes emerged from the data using a content analysis approach to examine the peer researchers' experience: (1) skill development; (2)
recognition of competencies; (3) connection; (4) supplementary information;
and (5) the triad dynamic.Conclusions: Considerations to enhance the peer researcher experience emerged
including enhanced communication training, consideration of the optimum number
of peer researchers to balance workload and identification of the characteristics that
enable people to connect as peer researchers. Future research should consider the
impact that experiential skill development has on the data collected.Public Contribution: Older people conducted qualitative interviews as peer researchers with people living with dementia to cocreate knowledge.Health and Social Care Research and
Development Division Public Health Agency
and Atlantic Philanthropies,
Grant/Award Number: COM/4955/14https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.1333124pubpub
Working with peer researchers in refugee communities
Full text linkRefugee peer researchers can be a vital source of access, knowledge and assistance to refugee communities, and international researchers must consider how best to work collaboratively with them
Enriching qualitative alcohol and other drug research by engaging lived experience peer researchers in a dual‐interview approach: A case study
No full textIntroduction
Engaging people with lived experience of alcohol and other drug use as peer researchers in qualitative research is becoming more common. However, there are differing opinions on how to best engage and support peer researchers.
Case Presentation
Through this case study the researchers aimed to illustrate the potential benefits of a peer/academic researcher dual-interview approach as a qualitative method in research. In the study, a peer researcher who had lived experience of alcohol and other drug use collaborated with an academic researcher who had qualitative expertise. Semi-structured interviews (N = 22) were undertaken with men and women with lived experience of alcohol and other drug harms (n = 14) and healthcare staff (n = 8) from alcohol and other drug, and broader healthcare services.
Discussion and Conclusions
The research team contend that in a dual-interview approach, rather than peer/academic researchers being binary opposites, there exists a continuum along which peer and academic researchers travel back and forth; that supports recognition of similarities and differences; and deepens mutual respect. Engaging peer researchers also represents an opportunity for meaningful capability building, with the ultimate and important goal of having peer researchers drive their own research agendas, and move from supporting to leading alcohol and other drug-related research.Full Tex
International youth mental health case study of peer researchers’ experiences
Full text linkBACKGROUND:
The involvement of young people as peer researchers, especially with lived experience, is increasingly considered important in youth mental health research. Yet, there is variation in the understanding of the role, and limited evidence on its implementation across different research systems. This case study focusses on the barriers and enablers of implementing peer researcher roles within and across majority world countries contexts.
METHODS:
Based on an international youth mental health project involving different levels of peer researchers and participants from eight countries, peer researchers and a co-ordinating career researcher reflect on lessons regarding enabling and challenging factors. These reflections are captured and integrated by a systematic insight analysis process.
RESULTS:
Building on existing international networks, it was feasible to actively involve peer researchers with lived experience in a multi-country mental health study, who in turn recruited and engaged young participants. Identified challenges include the terminology and definition of the role, cultural differences in mental health concepts, and consistency across countries and sites.
DISCUSSION:
Peer researchers’ role could be strengthened and mainstreamed in the future through ongoing international networks, training, sufficient planning, and active influence throughout the research process.
TRIAL REGISTRATION:
Not applicable
International youth mental health case study of peer researchers’ experiences
No full textAbstract Background The involvement of young people as peer researchers, especially with lived experience, is increasingly considered important in youth mental health research. Yet, there is variation in the understanding of the role, and limited evidence on its implementation across different research systems. This case study focusses on the barriers and enablers of implementing peer researcher roles within and across majority world countries contexts. Methods Based on an international youth mental health project involving different levels of peer researchers and participants from eight countries, peer researchers and a co-ordinating career researcher reflect on lessons regarding enabling and challenging factors. These reflections are captured and integrated by a systematic insight analysis process. Results Building on existing international networks, it was feasible to actively involve peer researchers with lived experience in a multi-country mental health study, who in turn recruited and engaged young participants. Identified challenges include the terminology and definition of the role, cultural differences in mental health concepts, and consistency across countries and sites. Discussion Peer researchers’ role could be strengthened and mainstreamed in the future through ongoing international networks, training, sufficient planning, and active influence throughout the research process. Trial registration: Not applicable
Sex workers as peer researchers–a qualitative investigation of the benefits and challenges
Full text linkBest practice in sex work research advocates for a ‘nothing about us without us’ methodology. This study employed sex workers as peer researchers to assist in evaluating the sexual health outcomes and well-being of sex workers in Western Australia. All eight peer researchers were invited to reflect on their experiences as peer researchers through semi-structured interviews, and seven peer researchers participated. Giving sex workers a voice and the opportunity to facilitate change for their peers was the primary driver for participation. Some peer researchers from English speaking backgrounds experienced challenges engaging and communicating with study participants for whom English was not their first language. Others experienced role conflict on hearing viewpoints contrary to their own beliefs. Access to support from the project team and other peer researchers was a key enabler for undertaking the peer researcher role. The majority of peer researchers were motivated to participate in the research by the possibility of future changes to sex work-related legislation, and support for sex workers based on the research findings. Research partnerships with peer researchers that offer employment throughout the research process, including co-authorship of journal articles, opportunities for leadership roles and collaboration in research translation activities can increase research impact
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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