Rapid realist review of organisational supports for youth peer support workers

OBJECTIVES: Providing peer support can benefit youth peer support workers (peers)et by supporting self-determination, recovery and resilience to self-stigma. There is a need to clarify the role of the organisation in providing benefits for peers. We aimed to identify the organisational contexts and mechanisms that result in the creation of healthy workplaces for peers. DESIGN: Rapid realist review guided by the Realist and Meta-Narrative Evidence Syntheses-Evolving Standards guidelines and Pawson's iterative approach. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, SocINDEX, Google Scholar and Embase were searched from 1979 to 2025. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included qualitative and quantitative peer-reviewed studies and grey literature that captured characteristics of organisational practices and employment considerations in youth peer support programmes. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Articles were screened independently by multiple reviewers. Inclusion criteria were adjusted to capture literature on organisational practices, and employment considerations for youth peer support programmes. Data were extracted and analysed retroductively to develop Context-Mechanism-Outcome Configurations (CMOCs). RESULTS: Five employment-related risks to peer well-being were identified: (1) difficulty entering the job market, (2) lack of role clarity, (3) pressure to live up to ideals, (4) retraumatisation and (5) stigma. Six CMOCs were developed; all focused on the creation of equitable employment and supporting peer development and empowerment were developed. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based mental health organisations can facilitate equitable peer employment through strategies that reduce professional stigma, enhance peer resilience and promote professional and personal development. Policy reform that addresses precarious work conditions is needed to support healthy work environments.