The Development of a Pilot Training Program for Peer Leaders in Diabetes

PURPOSE: The goal of this study is to describe the process of developing a program that trains peers to facilitate an empowerment-based diabetes self-management support intervention. METHODS: To guide and advise the development process, the authors formed a peer leader training action committee. The committee was an interdisciplinary group (principal investigator, nurse-certified diabetes educators, dietitian-certified diabetes educators, nutritionist, physician, and 3 community members) that met every 3 months over a 1-year period for continuous quality improvement meetings. During meetings, the committee reviewed and supervised the curriculum development, provided feedback, and informed modifications and improvements. RESULTS: The resulting peer leader training program is a 46-hour program with 2 training sessions conducted per week over a 12-week period. The competency-based training program is based on the theory of experiential learning, and it consists of 3 major components--namely, building a diabetes-related knowledge base, developing skills (communication, facilitation, and behavior change), and applying skills in experiential settings. All components are integrated within each training session using a range of instructional methods, including group brainstorming, group sharing, role-play, peer leader simulations, and group facilitation simulations. CONCLUSION: Through the process described above, the authors developed a training program that equips peer leaders with the knowledge and skills to facilitate empowerment-based diabetes self-management support interventions. Future directions include conducting and evaluating the peer training program.