Implement
Peer support has three core functions: assisting people in managing diabetes in daily life, offering social and emotional support, and providing linkages to clinical care. Because people with diseases such as diabetes need to manage their diseases and cope with the challenges they entail “for the rest of your life,” peer support needs to be ongoing.
While addressing the core functions is critical to any peer support intervention, peer support programs need to be tailored to the characteristics of the countries, populations and settings they are intended to serve. A balance must be achieved between key core functions and flexibility to address regional and cultural differences.
In this section you will find information and a wide variety of resources with which you can develop a program to fit your setting. Resources here address the following questions:
- How do I start a peer support program?
- How can I train peer mentors/supporters or get training as a peer mentor/supporter?
- Where can I find guidance for managing a peer support program?
- How can I evaluate my peer support program?
- Where can I find help troubleshooting a peer support program?
- How can I adapt a general peer support intervention for my area, population, or culture?
- Where can I share peer support resources and tools that others may find useful?
Disclaimer: Peer Support Resources
Peers for Progress aims to serve peer support programs around the world by providing a compilation of web-based resources for developing and enhancing these programs. Framed by peer support's core functions as outlined in Learn, we selected these materials from varied sources and from materials provided to us. In doing so, we have sought to include materials that reflect state-of-the-art knowledge of diabetes, peer support, diabetes management, and health promotion. Users should exercise their own judgment in assessing the appropriateness of materials for their own setting and population. Peers for Progress assumes no responsibility for the quality of evidence on which materials are based or consequences of their use.
Peers for Progress has no financial interests with specific websites or organizations listed in this section. For a full listing of our partnerships, please read About Us.
If a user would like to suggest additional resources, please Contact Us. As you use and possibly adapt resources, please give credit to the developing organization.
Peers for Progress is a program of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and supported by the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation.