Edwin B. Fisher ( [email protected] ) is the global director of Peers for Progress and a professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina (UNC), in Chapel Hill.
Renée I. Boothroyd is the director of the Peers for Progress Program Development Center at UNC.
Muchieh Maggy Coufal is the program manager of the Peers for Progress Program Development Center.
Linda C. Baumann is a professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing.
Jean Claude Mbanya is a professor of medicine and endocrinology at the University of Yaoundé I and chief of the Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Unit at the Central Hospital, in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus is the director of the Global Center for Children and Families at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Boosaba Sanguanprasit is a Temporary International Professional with the World Health Organization, South-East Asia Regional Office, in New Delhi, India.
Chanuantong Tanasugarn is an assistant professor of health education and behavioral sciences at Mahidol University, in Bangkok, Thailand.

PUBLISHED:January 2012No Accesshttps://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0914

Abstract

Self-management of diabetes is essential to reducing the risks of associated disabilities. But effective self-management is often short-lived. Peers can provide the kind of ongoing support that is needed for sustained self-management of diabetes. In this context, peers are nonprofessionals who have diabetes or close familiarity with its management. Key functions of effective peer support include assistance in daily management, social and emotional support, linkage to clinical care, and ongoing availability of support. Using these four functions as a template of peer support, project teams in Cameroon, South Africa, Thailand, and Uganda developed and then evaluated peer support interventions for adults with diabetes. Our initial assessment found improvements in symptom management, diet, blood pressure, body mass index, and blood sugar levels for many of those taking part in the programs. For policy makers, the broader message is that by emphasizing the four key peer support functions, diabetes management programs can be successfully introduced across varied cultural settings and within diverse health systems.

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