Project Description:
This project's goal was to strengthen the use of peer support in community engaged research. Someone with lived experience can best understand the unique perspective and barriers to research participation for key community members. Research that meaningfully engages the community makes research outcomes more relevant and impactful. This project identified the ways that peer support—support by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for people with IDD—could enhance transitional research, that is, research about the transition to adulthood. The transition to adulthood is a significant and challenging time for youth, especially those with IDD. This time is marked by a significant shift in the type and amount of services and supports for people with IDD. Transition outcomes such as employment, independent living, and community participation are poorer for youth with IDD compared to peers without IDD, which impacts their quality of life and reported levels of health.
The first aim of the research was to identify and prioritize areas of need and opportunity for peer support in research for transitional age youth and young adults with IDD. To address this, the project conducted an "environmental scan," an assessment of transition and peer support needs from different information sources. The environmental scan included a triangulation of a scoping review of the scholarly literature, focus groups, and key informant qualitative interviews. The combination of results identified the key needs and research priorities for transition services and the priorities for peer support in of transitional research. The final combination of results was made into a Research Roadmap and Action Plan document that the advisory board and external evaluators reviewed and evaluated to guide the production of the two project products: a peer support manual and an online training module.
Using key community member feedback, the project team developed and designed additional components for a downloadable peer support manual and interactive online training module. The manual describes the project's aims, methods, and findings detailed below. The FYREworks training module provides strategies for enhancing peer support on research teams. The project team developed initial interactive content for the manual and module and then engaged advisory board members and consultants, both groups of which included key community members, in an iterative process of review and refinement to ensure the content was relevant and accessible. The project team then refined and revised the training materials based on multiple levels of review.
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Professionals and Para-Professionals, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
