# Impact of peer Support on Health Services and Social Disparities Among Minority Youth with SMI

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $590,094

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This mixed methods study aims to assess whether peer-support reduces disparities in mental health service
utilization and social outcomes among transitional age youth (TAY) age 16-24 with severe mental illness (SMI).
TAY with SMI face extraordinary challenges in their transition to adulthood and exhibit lower levels of
educational attainment, and higher rates of unemployment, poverty, unplanned pregnancy, substance use,
homelessness, and justice system involvement than TAY without SMI. These disparities are exacerbated
among minority TAY. Therefore, there is a great need for evidence-based, culturally tailored interventions that
effectively link TAY to resources that can improve their mental health and social outcomes. The 2004 California
Mental Health Services Act funded hundreds of new TAY-specific programs; while TAY peer support services
are now pervasive in mental health programs, evidence regarding their effectiveness for TAY with SMI is
largely lacking. Therefore, this study aims to (1) Estimate quantitatively whether the use of peer support
reduces racial / ethnic disparities in mental health services and social outcomes among TAY living with SMI;
(2) Identify quantitatively which types or combinations of peer supports are most effective at improving mental
health services and social outcomes and reducing racial / ethnic disparities among TAY; (3) Estimate the
additional mental health service costs or cost savings associated with providing peer support services to TAY;
(4) Qualitatively elucidate TAY clients’ and peer providers’ perceptions of how TAY peer support relates to
mental health services and social outcomes disparities; and (5) Qualitatively characterize barriers and
facilitators to the use of TAY peer support by TAY program managers and county administrators. To meet
these aims, we will survey TAY programs (N=140), analyze five years of administrative data to assess costs or
cost-savings associated with using peer support services (N=8,800, Aims 1-3) and conduct small group
interviews with TAY peer providers (n=30-40), focus groups with TAY clients (n=60-80), and individual
interviews with as TAY program managers (n=20) and county administrators (n=6-10) (Aims 4 and 5). This
study leverages a major system redesign in California’s mental health system and aims to rigorously study a
large-scale implementation of TAY peer support services. Findings will help providers and policy-makers make
informed decisions about the effectiveness of peer support in reducing disparities among minority TAY living
with SMI and enable us to make recommendations on potential best-practices in the use of TAY peer supports.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899755
- **Project number:** 5R01MD011528-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** VICTORIA D OJEDA
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $590,094
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-20 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899755

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899755, Impact of peer Support on Health Services and Social Disparities Among Minority Youth with SMI (5R01MD011528-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899755. Licensed CC0.

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