Enhancing peer support experience for patients discharged from acute psychiatric care: protocol for a randomised controlled pilot trial

INTRODUCTION: This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative peer support programme. The programme incorporates leadership training, mentorship, recognition and reward systems for peer support workers, and supportive/reminder text messaging for patients discharged from acute (hospital) care. We hypothesise that patients enrolled in the peer support system plus daily supportive/reminder text messages condition will achieve superior outcomes in comparison to other groups. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a prospective, rater-blinded, four-arm randomised controlled trial. 180 patients discharged from acute psychiatric care in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada will be randomised to one of four conditions: (1) enrolment in a peer support system; (2) enrolment in a peer support system plus automated daily supportive/reminder text messages; (3) enrolment in automated daily supportive/reminder text messages alone; or (4) treatment as usual follow-up care. Patients in each group will complete evaluation measures (eg, recovery, general symptomatology and functional outcomes) at baseline, 6 months and 12months. Patient service utilisation data and clinician-rated measures will also be used to gauge patient progress. Patient data will be analysed with descriptive statistics, repeated measures and correlational analyses. The peer support worker experience will be captured using qualitative methods. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (Hong Kong Amendment) and Good Clinical Practice (Canadian Guidelines). The study has received ethical clearance from the Health Ethics Research Board of the University of Alberta (Ref # Pro00078427) and operational approval from our regional health authority (AHS- (PRJ) #35293). All participants will provide informed consent prior to study inclusion. The results will be disseminated at several levels, including patients/peer supports, practitioners, academics/researchers, and healthcare organisations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03404882; Pre-results.