Peer Navigator Employment Training Program: A Health Care Transition Service-Training Model

Background: Health care transition (HCT) service disparities are evident for youth and young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities when compared to other populations of youth and young adults with chronic conditions, resulting in service discontinuities in accessing adult-focused care and acquisition of developmental milestones associated with adulthood. Models of care to address their unique needs for services have been reported to advance acquisition of HCT outcomes. Methodology: An innovative HCT service model, Peer Navigator Employment Training Program (PNETP) is described in this paper. The PNETP is a service-training model focused on providing HCT services to youth and young adults and concomitantly training individuals with intellectual and /or developmental disabilities to serve as HCT peer navigators. The PNETP training program features a unique partnership among intellectual and/pr developmental disability service and employment agencies and a regional pediatric medical center. Preliminary Findings. A description of the PNETP is presented together with pilot data describing the PNETP implementation. Integral to the development of this model are the ongoing efforts to gather data from potential and actual users. Parental input was elicited for programmatic development. Descriptive data obtained with the initiation of PNETP is presented. Conclusions. Preliminary PNETP implementation and programmatic pilot data suggest promise for its dual purpose of facilitating employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities as peer navigators in healthcare and social service settings and services for transition-aged youth and young adults. This specialty community health worker role shows not only promise for HCT navigation but for other specialty care services that would benefit from peer navigation support.