TY - JOUR
T1 - Using peer support in developing empowering mental health services (UPSIDES)
T2 - Background, rationale and methodology
AU - Puschner, Bernd
AU - Repper, Julie
AU - Mahlke, Candelaria
AU - Nixdorf, Rebecca
AU - Basangwa, David
AU - Nakku, Juliet
AU - Ryan, Grace
AU - Baillie, Dave
AU - Shamba, Donat
AU - Ramesh, Mary
AU - Moran, Galia
AU - Lachmann, Max
AU - Kalha, Jasmine
AU - Pathare, Soumitra
AU - Müller-Stierlin, Annabel
AU - Slade, Mike
N1 - Funding Information:
The study Using Peer Support In Developing Empowering Mental Health Services (UPSIDES) is a multicentre collaboration between the Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II at Ulm University, Germany (Bernd Puschner, coordinator); the Institute of Mental Health at University of Nottingham, UK (Mike Slade); the Department of Psychiatry at University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany (Candelaria Mahlke); Butabika National Referral Hospital, Uganda (David Basangwa); the Centre for Global Mental Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK (Grace Ryan); Ifakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Donat Shamba); the Department of Social Work at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel (Galia Moran); and the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, Pune, India (Jasmine Kahla). We are grateful for their contributions to UPSIDES to Eva Paul, Reinhold Kilian, Silvia Krumm, Thomas Becker (Ulm); Richard Mpango (Butabika); Cerdic Hall (London); Michelle Remme (Dar es Salaam); and to the members of the UPSIDES International Advisory Board (Marianne Farkas, Boston University, USA; Michelle Funk, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; Nigel Henderson, Penumbra, Edinburgh, Scotland; Sylvia Kaaya, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Stefan Weinmann, Charité Medical University, Berlin, Germany). UPSIDES has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 779263. This publication reflects only the authors’ views. The Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Funding Information:
UPSIDES has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 779263. This publication reflects only the authors’ views. The Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Author(s).
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Background: Peers are people with lived experience of mental illness. Peer support is an established intervention in which peers offer support to others with mental illness. A large proportion of people living with severe mental illness receive no care. The care gap is largest in low- and middle-income countries, with detrimental effects on individuals and societies. The global shortage of human resources for mental health is an important driver of the care gap. Peers are an under-used resource in global mental health. Objectives: To describe rationale and methodology of an international multicentre study which will scale-up peer support for people with severe mental illness in high-, middle-, and low-income countries through mixed-methods implementation research. Methods: UPSIDES is an international community of research and practice for peer support, including peer support workers, mental health researchers, and other relevant stakeholders in eight study sites across six countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. During the first two years of UPSIDES, a series of qualitative studies and systematic reviews will explore stakeholders’ perceptions and the current state of peer support at each site. Findings will be incorporated into a conceptual framework to guide the development of a culturally appropriate peer support intervention to be piloted across all study sites. All intervention and study materials will be translated according to internationally recognised guidelines. Expected Impact: UPSIDES: will leverage the unique expertise of people with lived experience of mental illness to strengthen mental health systems in high-, middle- and low-income countries. UPSIDES will actively involve and empower service users and embed patient-centeredness, recovery orientation, human rights approaches, and community participation into services. The focus on capacity-building of peers may prove particularly valuable in low-resource settings in which shortages of human capital are most severe.
AB - Background: Peers are people with lived experience of mental illness. Peer support is an established intervention in which peers offer support to others with mental illness. A large proportion of people living with severe mental illness receive no care. The care gap is largest in low- and middle-income countries, with detrimental effects on individuals and societies. The global shortage of human resources for mental health is an important driver of the care gap. Peers are an under-used resource in global mental health. Objectives: To describe rationale and methodology of an international multicentre study which will scale-up peer support for people with severe mental illness in high-, middle-, and low-income countries through mixed-methods implementation research. Methods: UPSIDES is an international community of research and practice for peer support, including peer support workers, mental health researchers, and other relevant stakeholders in eight study sites across six countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. During the first two years of UPSIDES, a series of qualitative studies and systematic reviews will explore stakeholders’ perceptions and the current state of peer support at each site. Findings will be incorporated into a conceptual framework to guide the development of a culturally appropriate peer support intervention to be piloted across all study sites. All intervention and study materials will be translated according to internationally recognised guidelines. Expected Impact: UPSIDES: will leverage the unique expertise of people with lived experience of mental illness to strengthen mental health systems in high-, middle- and low-income countries. UPSIDES will actively involve and empower service users and embed patient-centeredness, recovery orientation, human rights approaches, and community participation into services. The focus on capacity-building of peers may prove particularly valuable in low-resource settings in which shortages of human capital are most severe.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064314251&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5334/aogh.2435
DO - 10.5334/aogh.2435
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85064314251
SN - 0027-2507
VL - 85
JO - Annals of Global Health
JF - Annals of Global Health
IS - 1
M1 - 53
ER -