People with Lived Experience as Support Workers and Community Leaders: Findings from a Critical Interpretive Synthesis of the Literature and Expert Consultation

In this critical interpretive synthesis, we explore the roles, benefits, and challenges of peer support workers with lived experience (PSWLE) who work with marginalized populations, integrating research findings and knowledge from key informants. We find that PSWLE are engaged in interconnected practice, consultative, and educative roles and serve as intermediaries between public services and marginalized populations; these roles vary according to field of practice; PSWLE perform work that benefits service users, human service organizations, and the public; and PSWLE are encumbered by various workplace challenges, like ambiguous job descriptions and transition from service user to provider. PSWLE and other health and social service providers can experience tensions due to differences in practice models (e.g. harm reduction vs. medical model). Governments and human service organizations need to modify organizational and service delivery systems to ensure that PSWLE are adequately supported and capable of practicing according to peer support principles. Peer support workers with lived experience offer beneficial services to different human service organizations, e.g. clinics, community-based organizations, hospitals, prisons…There is growing recognition of the value of peer support within organizations that employ such services, but the practice remains poorly understood, particularly when support workers collaborate with outside parties.The planning, training, and supervision of peer support services requires careful consideration due to the unique nature of the: workers, work, transition to work, and practice philosophy.Peer support services are a key component of broader efforts to reform public services, notably toward recovery-oriented and accessible service models. This necessarily provokes organizational conflict; however, the potential benefits are notable in terms of addressing concerns about the inaccessibility and inadequacy of human service networks in helping socially marginalized populations. Peer support workers with lived experience offer beneficial services to different human service organizations, e.g. clinics, community-based organizations, hospitals, prisons… There is growing recognition of the value of peer support within organizations that employ such services, but the practice remains poorly understood, particularly when support workers collaborate with outside parties. The planning, training, and supervision of peer support services requires careful consideration due to the unique nature of the: workers, work, transition to work, and practice philosophy. Peer support services are a key component of broader efforts to reform public services, notably toward recovery-oriented and accessible service models. This necessarily provokes organizational conflict; however, the potential benefits are notable in terms of addressing concerns about the inaccessibility and inadequacy of human service networks in helping socially marginalized populations.