Representing the experiences of charity peer leaders facilitating well-being interventions to their peers using a constructivist grounded theory methodology

Purpose This study aims to generate theory that represented charity peer leader experiences, facilitating well-being interventions to two specific groups of people: new mothers and refugees. Design/methodology/approach Part 1 of this study used in-depth interviews (n = 8) and phone calls with experienced mothers (called “peer leaders”) who had facilitated well-being interventions to new mothers. These interviews were analysed using Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) (Charmaz, 2014) generating a theory. Following a systematic literature review using the theory categories as search terms, a training approach was devised: The Modelled Training Approach (MTA). Refugees (n = 16) were trained to facilitate another well-being intervention using the MTA followed by a further set of interviews (n = 6). These interviews were analysed using CGT. Findings A theory was generated representing the “journey” the peer leaders took: their lived experience triggered empathic feelings towards their peers, which motivated them to build a rapport where they gave hope. As a result, the peer leaders felt rewarded. Originality/value The literature search did not find any studies looking at the experiences of peer leaders in the above settings. The theory generated could support mental health peer work offsetting statutory health costs.