Evaluation of a peer support program for women with breast cancer - Lessons for practitioners

The present study aimed to describe how a volunteer peer support service as sists women with breast cancer, and provides guidelines for practitioners i n the development and implementation of such programmes. A two-phase evalua tion of a breast cancer peer support program was undertaken to describe imp ortant attributes of the peer support intervention, the impact of the volun teer visit on women's self-reports of anxiety, and key indicators of a succ essful volunteer visit. Phase 1 included focus groups with 57 women previou sly treated for breast cancer. Phase 2 included a survey of 245 women also treated previously for breast cancer and visited by a Boast Cancer Support Volunteer. The key aspect of the peer support process was the bond of commo n experience leading to a decrease in social isolation, an increase in opti mism about the future and reassurance about personal reactions and feminini ty. It is recommended that peer support programmes should aim to time suppo rt visits to coincide with the time when patient support needs are highest, that volunteers need to be recruited from a range of backgrounds and match ed to patients most similar to them in way of life, and that peer support s ervices should be embedded in a broad network of community support services . Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.