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Thombs BD, Levis B, Carrier ME, Dyas L, Nordlund J, Tao L, Aguila K, Bourgeault A, Konrad V, Sauvé M, Connolly K, Henry RS, Østbø N, Levis AW, Kwakkenbos L, Malcarne VL, El-Baalbaki G, Hudson M, Wurz A, Culos-Reed SN, Platt RW, Benedetti A. Effects of a support group leader education program jointly developed by health professionals and patients on peer leader self-efficacy among leaders of scleroderma support groups: a two-arm parallel partially nested randomised controlled trial. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2022; 17:396. [PMID: 36307891 PMCID: PMC9616616 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-022-02552-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background More people with rare diseases likely receive disease education and emotional and practical support from peer-led support groups than any other way. Most rare-disease support groups are delivered outside of the health care system by untrained leaders. Potential benefits may not be achieved and harms, such as dissemination of inaccurate information, may occur. Our primary objective was to evaluate the effects of a rare-disease support group leader education program, which was developed collaboratively by researchers, peer support group leaders, and patient organization leaders, compared to waitlist control, on peer leader self-efficacy among scleroderma support group leaders.
Methods The trial was a pragmatic, two-arm partially nested randomised controlled trial with 1:1 allocation into intervention or waitlist control. Eligible participants were existing or candidate peer support group leaders affiliated with a scleroderma patient organization. Leader training was delivered in groups of 5–6 participants weekly for 13 weeks in 60–90 min sessions via the GoToMeeting® videoconferencing platform. The program included 12 general leader training modules and one module specific to scleroderma. Primary outcome was leader self-efficacy, measured by the Support Group Leader Self-efficacy Scale (SGLSS) immediately post-intervention. Secondary outcomes were leader self-efficacy 3 months post-intervention; emotional distress, leader burnout, and volunteer satisfaction post-intervention and 3 months post-intervention; and program satisfaction among intervention participants post-intervention.
Results One hundred forty-eight participants were randomised to intervention (N = 74) or waitlist (N = 74). Primary outcome data were provided by 146 (99%) participants. Mean number of sessions attended was 11.4 (standard deviation = 2.6). Mean program satisfaction score (CSQ-8) was 30.3 (standard deviation = 3.0; possible range 8–32). Compared to waitlist control, leader self-efficacy was higher post-intervention [SGLSS; 16.7 points, 95% CI 11.0–22.3; standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.84] and 3 months later (15.6 points, 95% CI 10.2–21.0; SMD 0.73); leader volunteer satisfaction was significantly higher at both assessments, emotional distress was lower post-intervention but not 3 months later, and leader burnout was not significantly different at either assessment.
Conclusions Peer support group leader education improved leader self-efficacy substantially. The program could be easily adapted for support group leaders in other rare diseases. Trial registration:NCT03965780; registered on May 29, 2019. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13023-022-02552-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett D Thombs
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada. .,Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Brooke Levis
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.,Centre for Prognosis Research, School of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK
| | - Marie-Eve Carrier
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Laura Dyas
- National Scleroderma Foundation, Michigan Chapter, Southfield, MI, USA
| | - Julia Nordlund
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Lydia Tao
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Kylene Aguila
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Angelica Bourgeault
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | | | - Maureen Sauvé
- Scleroderma Society of Ontario and Scleroderma Canada, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - Richard S Henry
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Nora Østbø
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Alexander W Levis
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Linda Kwakkenbos
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of IQ Healthcare, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Vanessa L Malcarne
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.,San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ghassan El-Baalbaki
- Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Marie Hudson
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.,Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Amanda Wurz
- School of Kinesiology, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada
| | - S Nicole Culos-Reed
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Psychosocial Resources, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Robert W Platt
- Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine Road, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.,Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Andrea Benedetti
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
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