Exploring the perceived effectiveness, impact and benefits of a work‐based cancer survivorship peer support programme: A qualitative descriptive study

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dc.contributor.authorO'Malley, Maria
dc.contributor.authorWills, Teresa
dc.contributor.authorKelleher, Sean
dc.contributor.authorEvans, Ciaran
dc.contributor.authorKilty, Caroline
dc.contributor.authorKoc, Irem
dc.contributor.authorCleary, Olga
dc.contributor.authorForristal, Helen
dc.contributor.authorSaab, Mohamad M.
dc.contributor.authorHegarty, Josephine
dc.contributor.funderHealth Service Executive
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-28T14:50:02Z
dc.date.available2026-04-28T14:50:02Z
dc.date.issued2026-04-17
dc.description.abstractAim: To explore the perceived effectiveness, impact and benefits of a work-based cancer survivorship peer support programme for healthcare employees who have experienced or are experiencing cancer. Design: A qualitative descriptive study. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit 33 participants (10 peers, 12 peer supporters, 4 line managers and 7 members of the governance group). Data were collected between October 2024 and February 2025 through individual interviews and focus groups. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were generated: Programme Reach and Adoption, Implementing the Programme, Programme Effectiveness and Impact and Programme Maintenance and Growth. Challenges included the pilot status of the programme impacting awareness and uptake, potential reluctance to share diagnoses and the impact of cancer on colleagues. The approach of peer supporters was considered central to the programmes' success. Peer supporters valued training and continuous practice development opportunities. Conclusion: Demonstrated benefits, including satisfaction and the value of peer support, were evident. To ensure programme maintenance, increased recruitment and training of peer supporters and clear communication regarding the programme and referral pathways are essential. Financial support is required to maintain training and address dissemination challenges. Implications for the Profession: Work-based peer support programmes can help cancer survivors reintegrate into the workforce more effectively, rebuilding confidence, fostering resilience and navigating workplace expectations. Enhanced staff well-being may also positively influence retention, performance and health-related disruptions. Impact: Findings from this underexplored area of work-based peer support within a healthcare setting have the potential to influence healthcare leaders, policy makers and future research. Improving staff's' quality of life on return to work benefits the individual, the organisation and care delivery by ensuring a healthy, supported workforce. Reporting Method: The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) checklist and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TiDieR) checklist were utilised. Patient or Public Contributions: No patient or public contribution.en
dc.description.sponsorshipHealth and Wellbeing Division, Health Service Executive, Ireland (2024)
dc.description.versionPublished Version
dc.format.extent17
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.authororcidO'Malley, Maria§0000-0002-0495-8588
dc.identifier.authororcidWills, Teresa
dc.identifier.authororcidKelleher, Sean§0009-0004-4435-5732
dc.identifier.authororcidEvans, Ciaran§0009-0002-7269-1333
dc.identifier.authororcidKilty, Caroline§0000-0001-6840-0359
dc.identifier.authororcidKoc, Irem
dc.identifier.authororcidCleary, Olga
dc.identifier.authororcidForristal, Helen
dc.identifier.authororcidSaab, Mohamad M.§0000-0002-7277-6268
dc.identifier.authororcidHegarty, Josephine§0000-0002-1663-4820
dc.identifier.citationO'Malley, M, Wills, T, Kelleher, S, Evans, C, Kilty, C, Koc, I, Cleary, O, Forristal, H, Saab, M M & Hegarty, J 2026, 'Exploring the perceived effectiveness, impact and benefits of a work‐based cancer survivorship peer support programme: A qualitative descriptive study', Journal of Advanced Nursing, pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70623
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/jan.70623
dc.identifier.endpage17
dc.identifier.issn0309-2402
dc.identifier.journaltitleJournal of Advanced Nursing
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0009-0002-7269-1333/work/212022264
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-7277-6268/work/213163993
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-0495-8588/work/213164165
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0009-0004-4435-5732/work/213164324
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-1663-4820/work/213164793
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-6840-0359/work/216909346
dc.identifier.startpage1
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18701
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70623
dc.rights© 2026, the Author(s). Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
dc.rights.accessrightsopen access
dc.rights.licensenameAttribution 4.0 International
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.statusPeer reviewed
dc.subjectCancer survivors
dc.subjectHealth personnel
dc.subjectNursing evaluation research
dc.subjectPsychosocial support systems
dc.subjectSurvivorship
dc.subject[NursingMidwifery]
dc.titleExploring the perceived effectiveness, impact and benefits of a work‐based cancer survivorship peer support programme: A qualitative descriptive studyen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)
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