ABSTRACT
Background/Purpose: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect in Canada, affecting approximately 1 in every 100 children. Adolescents with CHD (AWCHD) must learn to independently manage their disease and transition to adult care, yet many young Canadians fail to attend an adult CHD clinic. Patients who do not receive follow-up care have increased risks of requiring urgent interventions and hospital admission. Interventions designed to support coping and self-management are key strategies to improve the ability of AWCHD to manage their health and successfully transition to adult care. Peer support is one intervention that has been shown to improve health outcomes and symptoms in people with chronic disease, however no study to date has examined the role of peer mentorship in supporting AWCHD. This project tailored an existing virtual peer-to-peer mentorship program (iPeer2Peer© (iP2P) program) to meet the needs of AWCHD. The study aims were twofold: (1) To determine whether the iP2P program can be sustainably integrated into clinical practice within the CHD Transition Program at The Hospital for Sick Children, and (2) To examine the impact of the iP2P program on self-management and quality of life. Methods/Results: A prospective feasibility study of the iP2P CHD program was conducted to determine whether the program could be integrated and sustained in practice (primary outcome) and to examine program effectiveness (secondary outcome). A mixed methods design was used to measure feasibility of implementation (i.e. acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, etc.) and effectiveness of the iP2P CHD program (i.e. self-management and transition readiness, quality of life, perceived social support, etc.). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine program satisfaction and engagement. At the time of submission, 8 peer mentors had been successfully recruited and completed the 3-day training program. Early analysis of implementation outcomes demonstrated that identification and recruitment of suitable mentors may be more challenging in this population than previous groups. This may be related to factors such as range of disease severity and the nature of co-occurring developmental, social and mental health challenges in this population. Conclusion/Implications for Practice: There is an urgent need to implement virtual support interventions as the COVID-19 pandemic has limited opportunities for AWCHD to receive social support. Preliminary results suggest that the iP2P CHD virtual peer support program can be feasibly implemented within the CHD Transition Program. Peer mentor recruitment and training is feasible, and participation in the peer mentorship program is of interest to both mentors and mentees. Copyright © 2022