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. 2023 Mar;50(2):296-316.
doi: 10.1007/s10488-022-01242-x. Epub 2022 Nov 17.

Peer Workers in Co-production and Co-creation in Mental Health and Substance Use Services: A Scoping Review

Kristina Bakke Åkerblom  1 , Ottar Ness  2
Affiliations

Peer Workers in Co-production and Co-creation in Mental Health and Substance Use Services: A Scoping Review

Kristina Bakke Åkerblom et al. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

People with lived experience of mental health challenges are extensively employed as peer workers within mental health and substance use services worldwide. Research shows that peer workers benefit individuals using such services and can have essential roles in developing recovery-oriented services. However, understanding how peer workers' contributions, by their role, functions, and input can be better used remains a critical challenge. Research on public sector innovation has focused on relevant actors collaborating to tackle complex demands. Co-production and co-creation are concepts used to describe this collaboration. Co-production refers to the collaboration between providers and users at the point of service delivery, whereas co-creation refers to collaboration starting in the early service cycle phases (e.g., in commissioning or design), including solution implementation. We overviewed research literature describing peer workers' involvement in mental health and substance use services. The research question is as follows: How are peer workers involved in co-production and co-creation in mental health and substance use services, and what are the described outcomes? A literature search was performed in 10 different databases, and 13,178 articles were screened, of which 172 research articles describing peer workers' roles or activities were included. The findings show that peer workers are involved in co-production and function as providers of pre-determined services or, most often, as providers of peer support. However, they are rarely engaged as partners in co-creation. We conclude that the identified peer worker roles have different potential to generate input and affect service delivery and development.

Keywords: Boundary spanning; Co-creation; Co-production; Mental health and substance use services; Peer workers; Service transformation.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prisma flowchart of the systematic selection process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The number of studies, 2010–2021
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Included studies per country, 2010–2021
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The main research focus of the included studies
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Peer worker roles and their potential to transform services
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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