‘Recovery is up to you’: translation of a peer-led group intervention from Dutch to Norwegian setting: a quasi-experimental exploration of attendance, acceptability and impact

In the field of mental health and substance use community-services, the recovery phenomenon has gained increasingly focus, in which peer-support plays an essential role. To explore the translation and implementation of the peer-led intervention “Recovery is up to you” from Dutch to Norwegian regarding attendance, acceptability, in this case meaning completion and drop-out, and impact. Background information on participants, attendance rate and validated measures assessing hope (HHI), quality of life (MANSA), confidence (MHCS), loneliness (LS) and empowerment (NEL) were used. Descriptive analysis, t-test for the comparison of means (except for age where z-test was used) and chi-square statistics for the categorical variables were conducted. The sample constituted 89 participants (65.2% male, 34.8% female). Most had substance use issues. There was a significantly positive impact regarding hope. Participants differed from those in the Dutch RCT-study regarding age, gender and reason for participating. The Norwegian group had a weaker connection to the labor market but a stronger connection to health and social services. Over half of the attendees completed the course. Drop-out was within the normal range and implied acceptability. The results are promising regarding the usefulness and further implementation of the course in a Norwegian setting. This knowledge supports the positive results from the Dutch studies.