Paths to Everyday Life (PEER) - a Community-based Peer Support Intervention

NCT04639167 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: PEER
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 299
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The aim of this randomized, two-arm, investigator initiated, multi municipal, parallel-group superiority trial is to compare the effect on self-reported personal recovery of the following interventions: (1) 10-week group-based peer support intervention "Paths to everyday life" (PEER) added to service as usual (SAU); and (2) SAU alone. The primary outcome is self-reported personal recovery at end of intervention. Secondary and exploratory measures include empowerment, quality of life, functioning, hope, self-efficacy, self-advocacy and social network. The investigators, hypothesize that the superiority of the PEER intervention will be applicable for secondary outcomes and exploratory measures at end of intervention so that improvement in empowerment, hope, self-efficacy, self-advocacy, social network, quality of life and functioning will be improved among participants allocated to the PEER intervention.

Conditions

Peer Group; Mental Health Disorder; Problems Psychosocial; Mental Health Impairment

Keywords

Peer support; Community-based; Randomized Controlled Trial; Individual companionship; Volunteer peers; Peer group sessions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR-15)

  Personal recovery is measured with the Questionnaire about Process of Recovery (QPR-15), which consist of 15 items measuring aspects of personal recovery i.e. experiences of connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment - based on mental health consumer experiences of recovery. In psychometric evaluations, QPR-15 demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well sufficient convergent validity and moderate sensitivity to change. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and gives a total score between 0-60.

  At end of intervention (3 months)

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• The Empowerment Scale, Rogers (ESR)

  At end of intervention (3 months)

• The Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of life (MANSA)

  At end of intervention (3 months)

• Work and Social Adjusment Scale (WSAS),

  At end of intervention (3 months)

Other Outcomes (4)

• General Self-efficacy (GSE)

  At end of intervention (3 months)

• The Self-advocacy scale (SAS)

  At end of intervention (3 months)

• State Hope Scale (SHS)

  At end of intervention (3 months)

Study Arms (2)

Paths to everyday life (PEER)

EXPERIMENTAL

The Paths to everyday life (PEER) intervention added to service as usual (SAU) consists of a 10-week group course and an opportunity of individual companionship to persons with mental vulnerability and mental health difficulties. The 10 week group sessions is facilitated by two volunteer peers with their own lived experiences with mental vulnerability.

Behavioral: Paths to everyday life (PEER)

Service as usual (SAU)

NO INTERVENTION

Participants who will be allocated to the control group of the trial will receive service as usual (SAU) by their social security officer, or no specific service if the participant has been referred to the trial by self-referral. Participants who are referred to the trial via §82 in the municipality, can receive other §82 offers depending on the individual municipality.

Interventions

Paths to everyday life (PEER) BEHAVIORAL

The intervention consists of a 10-week group course and the opportunity of individual companionship to e.g. local activities in civil society, municipal social services, education, health and employment. The 10-week group sessions are delivered by two volunteer peers with their own experiential knowledge of mental vulnerability and mental health difficulties. The aim is to form a constructive community through group sessions where exchanges of lived experiences, mutuality and opportunities for social network development can develop.

Paths to everyday life (PEER)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Citizens using the municipal social service in the participating municipalities for support and assistance due to mental vulnerability and mental health difficulties, corresponding to the target group for §82 in the law of social service - i.e. citizens diagnosed with a mental illness and/or who is affected by mental dissatisfaction to a degree that limits the unfolding of life. Additionally, citizens who self-refer to the trial with similar mental health challenges.
• Are residents of collaborating municipalities at baseline.
• Can understand, speak, and read Danish.
• Are aged 18 years or older.
• Have given verbal and written consent to participate in the trial.

You may not qualify if:

• Citizens intoxicated by alcohol and/or other substances - if they according to the local coordinator's judgment cannot participate in the peer group, they are advised to contact professional help.
• Citizens with specific suicide plans - if they according to the local coordinator's judgment cannot participate in the peer group, they are advised to contact professional help.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Amager Hospital: lead
• The Peer partnership association: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Mental Health Centre Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Hellerup, 3900, Denmark

Location

Related Publications (25)

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• Williams J, Leamy M, Pesola F, Bird V, Le Boutillier C, Slade M. Psychometric evaluation of the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR). Br J Psychiatry. 2015 Dec;207(6):551-5. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.161695. Epub 2015 Oct 8.

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• Chien WT, Clifton AV, Zhao S, Lui S. Peer support for people with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Apr 4;4(4):CD010880. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010880.pub2.

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• Rogers ES, Chamberlin J, Ellison ML, Crean T. A consumer-constructed scale to measure empowerment among users of mental health services. Psychiatr Serv. 1997 Aug;48(8):1042-7. doi: 10.1176/ps.48.8.1042.

  PMID: 9255837 BACKGROUND

• Rogers ES, Ralph RO, Salzer MS. Validating the empowerment scale with a multisite sample of consumers of mental health services. Psychiatr Serv. 2010 Sep;61(9):933-6. doi: 10.1176/ps.2010.61.9.933.

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• Deegan PE. The lived experience of using psychiatric medication in the recovery process and a shared decision-making program to support it. Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2007 Summer;31(1):62-9. doi: 10.2975/31.1.2007.62.69.

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  BACKGROUND

• Poulsen CH, Egmose CH, Ebersbach BK, Hjorthoj C, Eplov LF. A community-based peer-support group intervention "Paths to EvERyday life" (PEER) added to service as usual for adults with vulnerability to mental health difficulties - a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2022 Sep 2;23(1):727. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06670-6.

  PMID: 36056407 BACKGROUND

• Poulsen CH, Egmose CH, Ebersbach B, Hjorthoj C, Eplov LF. The "Paths to everyday life" peer support intervention for adults with mental health difficulties versus service as usual in a Danish community setting - results from a randomized two-armed, multi-site, superiority trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Jul 11;25(1):695. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-07011-y.

  PMID: 40646520 DERIVED

• Poulsen CH, Egmose CH, Bjorkedal SB, Eplov LF. Intervention delivery in the 'Paths to everyday life' (PEER) trial: a qualitative study of the perspectives of the peer volunteers with lived experiences of being in personal recovery of mental health difficulties. BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):671. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06982-2.

  PMID: 40604516 DERIVED

• Egmose CH, Poulsen CH, Bjorkedal SB, Eplov LF. The 'Paths to everyday life' (PEER) trial - a qualitative study of mechanisms of change from the perspectives of individuals with mental health difficulties participating in peer support groups led by volunteer peers. BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Aug 13;24(1):555. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05992-w.

  PMID: 39138435 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Lene F Eplov, MD PhD

  Mental Health Center Copenhagen

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The participants, the local coordinators and the volunteer peers cannot be blinded to the group allocation. The REDCap randomization tool will be used to facilitate randomization. To ensure concealment, the randomization schedule is stored away from the research team and the block sizes are not disclosed. The allocation is performed by a not-blinded research coordinator, who informs the participants allocated to the control group through a central telephone. Moreover, the research coordinator informs the local coordinators in each municipality about participants allocated to the intervention group through submitting the record id via secure email. The local coordinators will be able to identify the participants through their access to REDCap. The researchers will be blinded to group allocation during the process of data analysis.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Head of Research, Associate professor

Model Details: A randomized, two-arm, investigator initiated, multi municipal, parallel-group superiority trial comparing the effect on self-reported personal recovery of the following interventions: (1) 10-week group-based peer support intervention "Paths to everyday life" (PEER) added to servide as usual (SAU) and (2) SAU alone

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2020
• First Posted: November 20, 2020
• Study Start: December 7, 2020
• Primary Completion: March 3, 2023
• Study Completion: June 26, 2023
• Last Updated: February 4, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: The data will be available in 5 years from publication of the results.
• Access Criteria: To request access, proposals should be directed to the corresponding author. Data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement to gain access to the data.

Locations

DK (1)