Peer Support Provided to People with Newly Acquired Spinal Cord Impairment in NZ: Evaluation Report

This work was a translational research project undertaken by Burwood Academy of Independent Living (BAIL) on behalf of the New Zealand Spinal Trust (NZST; based at the Burwood Spinal Unit, Christchurch) in conjunction with Spinal Support New Zealand (SSNZ; based at the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit). This research used a partnership design, prioritising the voice of consumers in the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) community – ensuring that new knowledge gained via this project will be translated back into service delivery. This study aimed to (1) evaluate how effectively spinal cord injury (SCI) peer support services were being provided by the two, peer support organisations and (2) support the development of sustainable, consistent national peer support services provided to people with newly acquired SCI. To do this, as part of this project, structures and processes for ongoing evaluation within NZST and SSZN were developed that will be used for ongoing monitoring and service development, ensuring NZ-wide consistency in delivery excellence in peer support provision.