Methods and instruments of evaluation in peer training programs for people with mental health problems: documentary review

Abstract

Training people with mental illnesses promotes social and labour market inclusion. The evaluation of these programs is essential to determine their scope. The aim is to identify the methods and instruments used in the evaluation of peer education programs for people with mental illness. A documentary review has been carried out. According to the inclusion and eligibility criteria, 56 programs were selected for the analysis. We found that the evaluation methods used are very heterogeneous and the provided information is limited; most of the programs evaluate knowledge, but not the acquired competences through training. It is necessary to collect information at different times and with complementary strategies for an adequate evaluation of the competences. If this is not done, it would be difficult to affirm that the person has developed the necessary competences for their tasks.