Patient’s perspectives on the value of peer support after acquired brain injury: an exploratory study

PURPOSE: Studies have shown positive socio-psychological effects of peer support for patients with acquired brain injury. However, little is known of what patients themselves understand and mean by peer support: what do they consider the added value? MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four key-values were identified. Patients valued: 1) gaining perspective on a meaningful life, 2) receiving advice based on lived experience, 3) being with one another without having to explain everything and 4) having space to tell your story to someone with a similar story. Peer support increased their motivation for rehabilitation, protected them from pitfalls and decreased feelings of loneliness. CONCLUSION: Findings show the potential of optimizing regular rehabilitation services by the addition of peer supporters. This requires a reconsideration of existing organizational and cultural structures. Genuine integration of peer support within rehabilitation services can only occur when structural inequalities and power asymmetries are explicitly acknowledged and addressed.