OVERVIEW

Peer Support Services to Address the Health and Wellness of People Living with Serious Mental Health Challenges is organized by Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (PRA) and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Foundation (PRF).

Opens: April 28, 2020
Closes: April 30, 2023

Description:
Upon registering for this course, please return to this course page and click the "Live Event Registration" link in the Course Outline to enter your information into our GoToWebinar event, which will provide you access to the live event - this step is required in order to participate in the live activity. For those that miss the live event, a recorded version with a post-test will be made available here on the course page approximately two weeks following the live webinar.

Course Overview:
People with a serious mental health challenges get sick and die 15 years earlier than same-aged peers. One reason is a fragmented health system where limited resources are distributed across large geographic areas. Peer support specialists are persons in recovery who use their lived experience to enhance health services. They assist people in the hands-on tasks of making and accompanying people to appointments, so they are better engaged in care. Limitations in cultural competence undermine engagement in physical health care as well. Mortality for people with serious mental health challenges is even worse when they are of color or have low income. In addition to being people in recovery, peer support specialists are selected from the same ethnic group and communities as service participants. Their shared experiences bridge interpersonal and instrumental barriers to accomplishing the health and wellness goals of service participants. This presentation will review the development and implementation of peer support services provided to persons with mental health challenges. Empirical evidence will be provided.

This presentation will review 1) health and wellness among people with mental health challenges; 2) benefits of peer support services; 3) program development using community-based participatory research; 4) summary of PCORI outcome research on peer services, and 5 ) implementation for peer support services. Session participants will benefit by receiving practical guidelines on setting up these programs (including service manuals) and learning ways to engage policymakers in supporting these kinds of services.

Learning Objectives:
After completion of this educational activity, participants will be able to:
• Explain health and wellness concerns for people with mental health challenges.
• Recognize peer support services as an effective solution to address health needs for people with mental health challenges.
• Use community-based participatory research when approaching program development.
• Discuss PCORI research on peer support services for people with mental health challenges.

Outlines:
• Presentation
• Slide Handout
• Post-Test
• PCORI Evaluation - Please Complete
• Course Evaluation
• Credit
• Certificate