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Adults with serious mental illness commonly experience comorbid chronic physical conditions and experience a reduced life expectancy of 10-25 years compared to the general population (Saha et al. in Arch Gen Psychiatry 64(10):1123–31. 2007; Hayes et al. in Acta Psychiatr Scand 131(6):417–25. 2015; Walker et al. in JAMA Psychiatry 72(4):334–41. 2015). Dimensions of personal recovery may have real-world implications that extend beyond functional and mental health outcomes to impact the self-directed health and wellness of adults with serious mental illness. This study examined the predictive utility of the Recovery Assessment Scale with respect to medical self-efficacy, self-management, psychiatric symptoms, and community functioning for adults with serious mental illness. Data were derived from a secondary analysis of baseline and 10-month data collected from a randomized control trial with adults aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, or major depressive disorder (N=56). A linear regression was conducted to examine the predictive value of total baseline RAS scores on self-efficacy at 10 months while controlling for study group. This model significantly predicted self-efficacy (F (2, 53) = 13.28, p < .001) and accounted for 36.1% of the variance. Total baseline RAS scores significantly predicted self-efficacy (β = 059, p < .001); specifically, higher baseline RAS scores were associated with greater self-efficacy. A greater degree of recovery may facilitate greater medical self-efficacy in managing chronic disease in people diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Future intervention approaches may consider recovery-focused therapeutic targets such as peer support to promote self-efficacy to manage chronic diseases in people with serious mental illness.

Background Certified peer support specialists (CPS) have a mental health condition and are trained and certified by their respective state to offer Medicaid reimbursable peer support services. CPS are increasingly involved as partners in research studies. However, most research ethics training in the protection of human subjects is designed for people who, unlike CPS, have had exposure to prior formal research training. Objective The aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of CPS in completing the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research online training. Methods A total of 5 CPS were recruited using a convenience sample framework through the parent study, a patient-centered outcomes research study that examined the comparative effectiveness of two chronic health disease management programs for people with serious mental illness. Participants independently completed the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research online training. All participants completed 15 online modules in approximately 7-9 hours and also filled out a self-report measure of executive functioning (the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory [ADEXI]). Qualitative data were collected from a 1-hour focus group and qualitative analysis was informed by the grounded theory approach. The codebook consisted of codes inductively derived from the data. Codes were independently assigned to text, grouped, and checked for themes. Thematic analysis was used to organize themes. Results Passing scores for each module ranged from 81%-89%, with an average of 85.4% and a median of 86%. The two themes that emerged from the focus group were the following: comprehension (barrier) and opportunity (facilitator). Participants had a mean score of 27.4 on the ADEXI. Conclusions The CPS perceived the research ethics online training as an opportunity to share their lived experience expertise to enhance current research efforts by nonpeer scientists. Although the CPS completed the online research ethics training, the findings indicate CPS experienced difficulty with comprehension of the research ethics online training materials. Adaptations may be needed to facilitate uptake of research ethics online training by CPS and create a workforce of CPS to offer their lived experience expertise alongside peer and nonpeer researchers.

BACKGROUND Certified peer support specialists (CPS) have a mental health condition and are trained and certified by their respective state to offer Medicaid reimbursable peer support services. CPS are increasingly involved as partners in research studies. However, most research ethics training in the protection of human subjects is designed for people who, unlike CPS, have had exposure to prior formal research training. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of CPS in completing the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research online training. METHODS A total of 5 CPS were recruited using a convenience sample framework through the parent study, a patient-centered outcomes research study that examined the comparative effectiveness of two chronic health disease management programs for people with serious mental illness. Participants independently completed the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research online training. All participants completed 15 online modules in approximately 7-9 hours and also filled out a self-report measure of executive functioning (the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory [ADEXI]). Qualitative data were collected from a 1-hour focus group and qualitative analysis was informed by the grounded theory approach. The codebook consisted of codes inductively derived from the data. Codes were independently assigned to text, grouped, and checked for themes. Thematic analysis was used to organize themes. RESULTS Passing scores for each module ranged from 81%-89%, with an average of 85.4% and a median of 86%. The two themes that emerged from the focus group were the following: comprehension (barrier) and opportunity (facilitator). Participants had a mean score of 27.4 on the ADEXI. CONCLUSIONS The CPS perceived the research ethics online training as an opportunity to share their lived experience expertise to enhance current research efforts by nonpeer scientists. Although the CPS completed the online research ethics training, the findings indicate CPS experienced difficulty with comprehension of the research ethics online training materials. Adaptations may be needed to facilitate uptake of research ethics online training by CPS and create a workforce of CPS to offer their lived experience expertise alongside peer and nonpeer researchers.

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global mental health crisis, highlighting the need for a focus on community-wide mental health. Emotional CPR (eCPR) is a program and practice developed by persons with a lived experience of recovery from trauma or mental health challenges to train community members from diverse backgrounds to support others through mental health crises. eCPR trainers have found that eCPR may promote feelings of belonging by increasing supportive behaviors toward individuals with mental health problems. Thus, clinical outcomes related to positive and negative affect would improve along with feelings of loneliness. OBJECTIVE This study examined the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of eCPR. METHODS We employed a pre-post design with 151 individuals, including peer support specialists, service users, clinicians, family members, and nonprofit leaders, who participated in virtual eCPR trainings between April 20, 2020, and July 31, 2020. Instruments were administered before and after training and included the Herth Hope Scale; Empowerment Scale; Flourishing Scale (perceived capacity to support individuals); Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; Active-Empathic Listening Scale (supportive behaviors toward individuals with mental health challenges); Social Connectedness Scale (feelings of belonging and connection with others); Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; and University of California, Los Angeles 3-item Loneliness Scale (symptoms and emotions). The eCPR fidelity scale was used to determine the feasibility of delivering eCPR with fidelity. We conducted 2-tailed paired t tests to examine posttraining improvements related to each scale. Additionally, data were stratified to identify pre-post differences by role. RESULTS Findings indicate that it is feasible for people with a lived experience of a mental health condition to develop a program and train people to deliver eCPR with fidelity. Statistically significant pre-post changes were found related to one’s ability to identify emotions, support others in distress, communicate nonverbally, share emotions, and take care of oneself, as well as to one’s feelings of social connectedness, self-perceived flourishing, and positive affect (P≤.05). Findings indicated promising evidence of pre-post improvements (not statistically significant) related to loneliness, empowerment, active-empathetic listening, mindfulness awareness, and hope. Nonprofit leaders and workers demonstrated the greatest improvements related to loneliness, social connectedness, empathic listening, and flourishing. Peer support specialists demonstrated the greatest improvements related to positive affect, and clinicians demonstrated the greatest improvements related to mindfulness awareness. CONCLUSIONS Promising evidence indicates that eCPR, a peer-developed and peer-delivered program, may increase feelings of belonging while increasing supportive behaviors toward individuals with mental health problems and improving clinical outcomes related to positive and negative affect and feelings of loneliness.