Referrals to Peer Support for Families in Pediatric Subspecialty Practices: A Qualitative Study

Introduction

Referrals to peer support (PS) can help families of children with special health care needs in providing emotional support, reducing feelings of stress and anxiety, and improving the care experience. This study aimed to gain providers’ perspectives about PS referrals for families of children with special health care needs, including their perspectives on logistics of, barriers to, and facilitators of making referrals as well as the perceived impacts of PS referrals.

Methods

This study builds on a 2022 survey of California pediatric subspecialists about the value and challenges of PS. The study team conducted 20 semistructured interviews with people from pediatric subspecialty practices in California and used a priori themes derived from the interview protocol to develop a codebook, code interview transcripts, conduct a thematic analysis, and summarize findings.

Results

Respondents offered a variety of PS referrals inside and outside their institutions, tailoring referrals to each family’s needs and preferences. Social workers and family liaisons were most commonly responsible for making PS referrals. Respondents found that care team collaboration and ease of sharing information about PS resources among colleagues facilitated the referral process. Respondents noted a need for more PS resources, including funding, education, and the need for a network where providers can identify PS resources.

Discussion

Encouraging PS program information-sharing within and across organizations could help connect more families to PS services. Future research should assess families’ experiences with PS referrals and services to understand approaches that can best meet their needs for information, instrumental, and emotional supports.