Identifying the outcomes of participating in peer mentorship for adults living with spinal cord injury: a qualitative meta-synthesis

Objective Peer mentorship is a flagship program utilized by Canadian community-based spinal cord injury (SCI) organizations. Through connecting trained SCI peer mentors with fellow adults with SCI, these programs help adults adapt and thrive following their injury. The objective of this meta-synthesis was to work with SCI community organizations and to identify outcomes of participating in community- or rehabilitation-based peer mentorship programs using an integrated knowledge translation approach. Design A meta-synthesis of 21 qualitative peer-reviewed studies and 66 community documents was conducted. Main Outcome Measures A total of 87 outcomes of peer mentorship were identified. Results The outcomes of peer mentorship were grouped according to six higher-order themes: 1) Independence: enhanced self-sufficiency; 2) Personal growth: positive psychological changes; 3) Activities and participation: greater participation in activities and events; 4) Adaptation: adapting to life with disability; 5) Knowledge: obtaining new information, resources, and opportunities; and 6) Connection: developing and maintaining social relationship. Conclusion The positive nature of the identified outcomes suggests that participating in peer mentorship can promote improved health and quality of life for adults with SCI. Furthermore, the integrated knowledge translation approach helped identify outcomes that were previously not examined within SCI peer mentorship research, thus providing important insight for future research.