AUTHOR=Sims Sonia , Hepsipa Omega Juliet S. , Joseph Jainey , Gopal Subhashini , Raghavan Vijaya , Venkatraman Lakshmi , Padmavati Ramachandran 

TITLE=Acceptability of Peer Support for People With Schizophrenia in Chennai, India: A Cross Sectional Study Amongst People With Lived Experience, Caregivers, and Mental Health Professionals

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.797427

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.797427

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Introduction

Establishing structured peer support in mental health and particularly in schizophrenia as a psychosocial intervention is in its early stages in low and middle-income countries like India. Before implementing and understanding the effectiveness of peer support service and which mode of peer support delivery will be suitable for our culture, our study aimed to understand if peer support would be accepted by the different participants like persons with schizophrenia, caregivers and mental health professionals in a tertiary care centre in Chennai, India.

Methods

A cross-sectional study method was used. A structured questionnaire was administered to the different study participants.

Results 
 
A total of 155 study participants (52 persons with schizophrenia, 50 caregivers and 53 mental health professionals) completed the survey. The majority of the participants (90.4% of persons with schizophrenia, 86% caregivers and all mental health professionals) welcomed peer support interventions. The participants wanted peers to help persons with schizophrenia achieve personal goals to enhance their mental health and day to day living with an emphasis on independent living and interpersonal and social relationships and help them achieve medication and treatment-related goals towards recovery. Understanding the role of a peer support volunteer and transitioning from a "person with schizophrenia" to a "peer support volunteer" by persons with schizophrenia was thought most challenging.  
 
Conclusion
 
The results highlight the acceptability of peer support across several stakeholders in the care of schizophrenia in a low and middle-income country context. The results may guide the implementation of a peer support volunteer programme as an essential mechanism of delivering psychosocial interventions for persons with schizophrenia.