Facilitators of peer coaching/support engagement and dissemination among women at risk for and surviving with breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract One-on-one peer coaching/support programs hold promise in promoting healthy outcomes among women at risk for and surviving with breast cancer, with the potential to bridge gaps in “whole person care.” Although popularly cited for their benefits, emerging evidence is mixed and suggests that peer support program impacts may be attenuated by individual- and community-specific factors. We evaluated a national not-for-profit breast cancer organization’s peer support program outcomes (2015–2018) serving women from predominantly Jewish backgrounds to examine program engagement, facilitation, and satisfaction. Of the N = 392 women sampled, 37% utilized the peer support program: the majority were referred by a family member/friend (40%) or had connected with the program online (34%). Logistic regression modeling revealed that mothers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04 to 3.19), women at increased genetic risk for breast cancer (OR = 2.07; 95% CI = 1.08 to 3.94), and those who connected with the organization through a family member/friend (OR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.23 to 3.15) were significantly more likely to utilize peer support (all p’s < .05). Satisfaction with peer support was high and reliably measured (M = 42.8 out of possible 50; α = .95). These findings emphasize opportunities for peer support programs to serve a range of needs among breast cancer previvors and survivors and increase health care’s organizational capacity to reach and impact this community through trusted and well-trained lay coaches.