Study Status
Ongoing
Project Team
Postpartum International Support (PSI)
Alignment with Crown Institute Vision
This project supports the Crown Institute’s vision by strengthening access to equitable, culturally responsive perinatal mental health support for families. By gathering input from peers trained in Alma in both English and Spanish, as well as the Alma training team and PSI leadership, this study aims to identify implementation needs and challenges that may impact the delivery of peer-based services in community settings. Improving training effectiveness and organizational readiness will help ensure that caregivers—especially those from linguistically diverse communities—receive supportive, research-based care, promoting family wellness and healthy developmental environments for young children.
Background & Context
Peer support plays a vital role in perinatal mental health by increasing trust, engagement, and access to care—especially for communities facing linguistic, cultural, and structural barriers.
While peer-delivered mental health services show strong promise, there is limited research on how peers are trained, certified, and integrated into organizations, particularly in bilingual and Spanish-speaking settings. Many training models lack clear guidance for supporting peers, and organizations often struggle with role clarity and readiness when incorporating peer providers.
This project addresses these gaps by evaluating peer training experiences and organizational readiness to integrate Alma, a perinatal peer-delivered program, into Postpartum Support International’s peer support infrastructure. Alma READY aims to inform equitable, sustainable approaches to community-integrated peer-delivered perinatal mental health care.
Primary Aims
Alma READY has row primary aims:
1. To evaluate PSI peers’ experiences of Alma training and certification, including perceived quality, clarity, and preparedness to deliver the program. This aim will also explore how bilingual and Spanish-speaking peers perceived linguistic accessibility, cultural relevance, and readiness for bilingual implementation.
2. To assess organizational readiness to adopt Alma within PSI’s existing peer support infrastructure, including fit, feasibility, needed adaptations, and organizational supports required for sustainable and equitable implementation.
Research Methods
This study uses a mixed-methods implementation evaluation design. Participants include:
- PSI peers who completed Alma training in English and Spanish
- Members of the Alma training team
- PSI administrative and leadership staff involved in peer program implementation.
Data collection will include surveys to collect demographic information and qualitative interviews and focus groups exploring implementation challenges, adaptation needs, and organizational supports. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), findings will inform iterative refinements to training, certification, and integration processes to support equitable and sustainable adoption of Alma.
Key Findings & Publications / Presentations
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References
Mutschler, C., Bellamy, C., Davidson, L., Lichtenstein, S., & Kidd, S. (2022). Implementation of peer support in mental health services: A systematic review of the literature. Psychological services, 19(2), 360–374. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000531
Onofrietti Magrassi, A., Collado, A., Hicks, L. M., Hubley, S., Bauer, D., & Dimidjian, S. (in revision). Bridging gaps in perinatal mental health: A review of peer and non-specialist supports for racially, ethnically and culturally diverse communities in the U.S. Current Psychiatry Reports.
Repper J, Carter T. A review of the literature on peer support in mental health services. J Ment Health. 2011 Aug 1;20(4):392–411.
SAMHSA. Core competencies for peer workers in behavioral health services. [Internet]. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.; 2017. Available from: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/programs_campaigns/brss_tacs/core-competencies.pdf
Sanchez-Moscona, C., & Eiroa-Orosa, F. J. (2021). Training mental health peer support training facilitators: a qualitative, participatory evaluation. International journal of mental health nursing, 30(1), 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12781
Sangraula M, Chauhan J, Best C, McEneaney C, Shah C, Brown AD, et al. The impact of task-sharing scalable mental health interventions on non-specialist providers: a scoping review. Camb Prisms Glob Ment Health [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2025 July 22];11. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2054425124001298/type/journal_article
Sokol R, Fisher E. Peer Support for the Hardly Reached: A Systematic Review. Am J Public Health. 2016 July;106(7):e1–8.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification [Internet]. 2023 June p. 40. Available from: https://library.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep23-10-01-001.pdf