WHAT MAKES A PEER SUPPORTER COMPETENT? - Bottom-Up Cross-Culturally Informed Multi-Method Study

Q: What is the purpose of the study on peer supporters’ competence?

To identify peer supporters’ core competencies from multiple stakeholder perspectives and develop an assessment scale for competence.

Q: How were the peer support core competencies developed?

A three-round bottom-up Delphi study involved peer supporters, service users, and social workers/project officers to construct a competency framework.

Q: What does the final Peer Supporter Competence Scale (PSCS-16) show?

PSCS-16 consists of 16 items and demonstrates good reliability and convergent validity, supporting its use for competence assessment.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Kyle

Peer support is increasingly recognized as a person-centered approach for supporting mental well-being in older adults. The study addresses limited knowledge about peer supporters’ core competencies across stakeholder perspectives and assessments of those competencies. A three-round bottom-up Delphi study produced a core competency framework and informed the development of a self-rated Peer Supporter Competence Scale (PSCS). Results indicate 35 competencies under five themes and yield a validated 16-item PSCS-16 scale with good reliability and convergent validity in 340 trained peer supporters.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study design and participants

Competency framework and themes

Scale development and validation

Implications

802 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 Abstract citation ID: igaf122.2720 WHAT MAKES A PEER SUPPORTER COMPETENT? A BOTTOM-UP CROSS-CULTURALLY INFORMED MULTI-METHOD STUDY Terry Lum1, Stephanie MingYin Wong1, Dara KiuYi Leung1, Eric Kwok1, Edwin Wong2, Wai Chi Chan1, and Gloria HoiYan Wong3, 1. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (People’s Republic), 2. University of Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, 3. University of Reading, England, United Kingdom Peer support is increasingly recognised as an important person-centred means of facilitating mental well-being among older adults. Enhancing competencies among Peer Supporters (PS) and any service provider is crucial to ensuring quality service. Yet, there is limited knowledge concerning what a PS’s core competencies are from the perspectives of multiple key stakeholders and how they could be aptly assessed. We conducted a three-round bottom-up Delphi study involving 30 PS (≥50 years), 14 service users (≥60 years), and 23 social workers/project officers to develop a PS core competency framework. This was followed by constructing a self-rated Peer Supporter Competence Scale (PSCS) for the local population. The psychometric properties of the PSCS were examined in 340 trained PS from a territory-wide community-based stepped-care intervention service for older adults with depressive symptoms in Hong Kong. Thirty-five core competencies were identified with five overarching themes: ‘Self and self-development’,‘General work ethics’,‘Work with others’,‘Work with service users’ (encompassing‘Interpersonal attitude and skills’, ‘Risk management’, and‘Recovery facilitation’), and ‘Peer support knowledge’. 14.3% were unique to the local context, 20% had conceptual origins in the West, and 65.7% were shared across cultures. Following standard scale development and validation procedures, the final scale for PS competence assessment comprised 16 items (PSCS-16), demonstrating good reliability (α = 0.84) and convergent validity (r = 0.40 with the General Self-Efficacy Scale, p < 0.001) . These findings have implications for enhancing peer support training and demonstrate the feasibility of developing a culturally-informed measure of PS competence using a bottom-up approach.

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study on peer supporters’ competence?

To identify peer supporters’ core competencies from multiple stakeholder perspectives and develop an assessment scale for competence.

How were the peer support core competencies developed?

A three-round bottom-up Delphi study involved peer supporters, service users, and social workers/project officers to construct a competency framework.

What does the final Peer Supporter Competence Scale (PSCS-16) show?

PSCS-16 consists of 16 items and demonstrates good reliability and convergent validity, supporting its use for competence assessment.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Kyle