Exploring how Chinese adults living with spinal cord injury viewed the prospect of inpatient peer support programs within a hospital-based rehabilitation setting.

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: Generic qualitative design. OBJECTIVES: To explore how Chinese adults living with spinal cord injury (SCI) viewed the prospect of inpatient peer support programs within a rehabilitation setting. SETTING: Hospital in China. METHODS: A purposive sample of adult inpatients with SCI (N = 6) currently undergoing rehabilitation was recruited. Each participant was interviewed twice. Twelve interview transcripts were analyzed using a thematic method. RESULTS: Five higher-order themes were developed. First, participants had unique backgrounds and personal lives before and after their SCI and reported frustrations about their lives resulting from their SCI. Second, participants reported varying degrees of satisfaction with their rehabilitation and identified the facilitators and barriers to their rehabilitation. Third, their perspectives on peer support were shaped by their rehabilitation goals. For example, participants who solely focused on the recovery of physical functioning noted that peers could help to supplement existing rehabilitation programming by guiding their rehabilitation exercises. Participants who concentrated on their future lives believed peers could teach them new skills to facilitate their integration in the community. However, some participants felt they could not trust peers' advice because peers are not healthcare providers. Fourth, peer support delivery options varied from online chat groups (i.e., WeChat), in-person conversations, and mentoring lectures. Finally, anticipated outcomes were related to obtaining practical and emotional support from peers, being motivated, and feeling understood. CONCLUSIONS: Participants harbored mixed views on potential use-value and necessity of hospital-based peer support programs, which could inform future utilization of SCI peer support within Chinese hospitals.