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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Evidence Tools
MCHbest. Transition.

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Strategy. Peer Support and Mentorship

Approach. Create a peer support and mentorship program for adolescent advisory council to discuss issues around health care transition

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Overview. Transition Peer Support and Mentorship offers a valuable approach to aid young adults in successfully navigating the move from pediatric to adult healthcare. These interventions leverage peer mentors, who are older young adults with shared lived experiences of managing chronic conditions or disabilities, providing relatable guidance and support.[1,2,3] Peer mentors act as supportive accountability agents, encouraging engagement with self-management activities and fostering the development of essential skills.[1] This includes improving transition readiness, self-management abilities, and self-efficacy for managing conditions and emotions, and providing informational and emotional support, often leading patients to report reaching their goals.[1,2,4] Participants value personalized support, including discussions on navigating healthcare systems, understanding treatment history, and managing daily life with their condition.[1, 2,3,5] These programs can also reduce feelings of social isolation and enhance well-being by connecting individuals with similar experiences.[2,3,5] Digital platforms with multimodal communication options further enhance availability and privacy, allowing for flexible engagement.[1,3]

Evidence. Emerging Evidence. Strategies with this rating typically trend positive and have good potential to work...

Access the peer-reviewed evidence through the MCH Digital Library or related evidence source.

Potential Data Sources. Data to support this strategy can be accessed through:

  • Advisory council member participation and engagement data
  • Qualitative feedback from council members and mentors
  • Mentor activity and engagement data

Outcome Components. This strategy has shown to have impact on the following outcomes (Read more about these categories):

  • Patient Experience of Care. This study improves individuals' perceptions, feelings, and satisfaction with the healthcare services they receive.
  • Access to/Receipt of Care. This strategy increases the ability for individuals to obtain healthcare services when needed, including preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services.
  • Utilization. This strategy improves the extent to which individuals and communities use available healthcare services.

Detailed Outcomes. For specific outcomes related to each study supporting this strategy, access the peer-reviewed evidence and read the Intervention Results for each study.

Intervention Type. Advocacy (Read more about intervention types and levels as defined by the Public Health Intervention Wheel).

Intervention Level. Community-Focused

Examples from the Field. Access descriptions of ESMs that use this strategy or aligned components.

Sample ESMs. Here are sample ESMs to use as models for your own measures using the RBA framework (see The Role of Title V in Adapting Strategies).

Quadrant 1:
Measuring Quantity of Effort (“What/how much did we do?”)

  • Number of peer support sessions for advisory council meetings held. (Measures the level of activity in providing the intervention)
  • Number of adolescents/young adults participating in the peer support program for advisory council. (Measures reach and representation of the program)

Quadrant 2:
Measuring Quality of Effort (“How well did we do it?”)

  • Percent of peer support sessions for council meetings that adhere to best practices for youth engagement and leadership. (Measures quality and youth-driven nature of the program)
  • Percent of program staff and mentors completing training on supporting youth through health care transition. (Measures workforce capacity to provide effective services)

Quadrant 3:
Measuring Quantity of Effect (“Is anyone better off?”)

  • Number of providers serving transition-age youth trained on promoting the peer support program to patients/clients. (Measures workforce development on the program)
  • Number of policies or protocols developed to link the peer support program to other MCH priorities like medical home. (Measures broader integration and synergies)
  • Number of adolescents/young adults from the program who attend a preventive visit with an adult provider within 6 months of program completion. (Measures actual health care utilization)
  • Number of program graduates who remain connected to health care and support services one year after completion. (Measures sustained engagement and systems navigation)

Quadrant 4:
Measuring Quality of Effect (“How are they better off?”)

  • Percent of health care transition plans jointly developed by the adolescent/young adult, family, and providers. (Measures person-centered planning and engagement)
  • Percent of transition-age youth in the population of focus being offered peer support services. (Measures deployment of the intervention)
  • Percent of adolescents/young adults from the program receiving recommended preventive and chronic care services in an adult model of care. (Measures adherence to guidelines)
  • Percent reduction in gaps in care during transition for program participants, compared to baseline for non-participant peers. (Measures impact on disruptions in care)

Note. When looking at your ESMs, SPMs, or other strategies:

  1. Move from measuring quantity to quality.
  2. Move from measuring effort to effect.
  3. Quadrant 1 strategies should be used sparingly, when no other data exists.
  4. The most effective measurement combines strategies in all levels, with most in Quadrants 2 and 4.

Learn More. Read how to create stronger ESMs and how to measure ESM impact more meaningfully through Results-Based Accountability.

References

[1] Kwok, G., Levonyan-Radloff, K., Masterson, M., Ohman-Strickland, P., Pawlish, K. S., Burger, S. S., Paddock, L. E., Palermo, T. M., Bouchard, E. G., Manne, S. L., & Devine, K. A. (2025). A randomized feasibility trial of Managing Your Health: a self-management and peer mentoring intervention for young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
[2] Carreon, S. A., Minard, C. G., Lyons, S. K., Levy, W., Camey, S., Desai, K., Duran, B., Streisand, R., Anderson, B. J., McKay, S. V., Tang, T. S., Devaraj, S., Ramphul, R., & Hilliard, M. E. (2024). DiaBetter Together: Clinical trial protocol for a strengths-based Peer Mentor intervention for young adults with type 1 diabetes transitioning to adult care. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 147, 107713.
[3] Kristina Marie Kokorelias, Tin-Suet Joan Lee, Bayley, M., Seto, E., Toulany, A., Nelson, M. L. A., Dimitropoulos, G., Penner, M., Simpson, R., & Munce, S. E. P. (2024). A Web-Based Peer-Patient Navigation Program (Compassionate Online Navigation to Enhance Care Transitions) for Youth Living With Childhood-Acquired Disabilities Transitioning From Pediatric to Adult Care: Qualitative Descriptive Study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 7, e47545–e47545.
[4] Belton, T. D., Wu, K., Steinway, C. M., Trachtenberg, S. W., Tchume-Johnson, T., Shilly, S., Austin, T., Luma, S., Smith, K., Smith-Whitley, K., Rubin, D., & Jan, S. (2024). Training young adults as community health workers specializing in pediatric to adult health care transition to support emerging adults with sickle cell disease. Health Care Transitions, 2, 100050.
[5] Bray, E. A., Salamonson, Y., Everett, B., George, A., Chapman, I. A., & Ramjan, L. (2022). Transitioning between paediatric and adult healthcare services: a qualitative study of the experiences of young people with spinal cord injuries and parents/caregivers. BMJ Open, 12(11), e065718.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U02MC31613, MCH Advanced Education Policy, $3.5 M. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.