Donate

Africa Sickle Cell Organisation has partnered with Generation Patient to host a series of East African peer-to-peer support meetings for young adults with chronic conditions (NCDs). They are only open to young adults with chronic conditions in the East African region who are 18+ years.

What is Peer Support?

Peer support is a process where individuals with shared experiences facing similar challenges come together to provide and receive emotional support [1].

Generation Patient’s peer-support meetings facilitate these supportive connections between young adult patients — i.e., young adults living with chronic medical conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, lupus, Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

These peer support meetings are just one of many forms of peer support available for young adult patients, each serving different purposes. Other examples include more traditional in-person support groups, peer mentorship programs, camps, online social communities, and disability-affinity groups for university students[2]. Consequently, there is no universal “one size fits all” approach to peer support for all patients [3].

The support needs of those with chronic conditions can fluctuate, so it is important to recognise the variety of peer support options available, and to empower patients to engage with the types of support that feel right for them.

Our Approach to Peer Support

Since March 2020, Generation Patient has facilitated over 650 virtual peer-support meetings. They try to foster support, solidarity, and strategy sharing in groups to help the respective communities navigate challenges.

Most groups are “cross-disease”, and are open to young adults with any chronic condition. This is special because it highlights the common experiences young people with chronic illnesses face, regardless of their specific diagnoses (ex: navigating school, starting a career, relationships, friendships, etc.). The meetings address topics such as medical disclosure, coping with unpredictability, navigating stigma, treatment burnout, navigating friendships & relationships, and self-advocacy.

In addition to discussion groups, Generation Patient also hosts more informal conversations, interactive workshops, game nights, and art activities, as this mix of offerings can help participants forge deeper connections with their peers. Even if chronic illness isn’t explicitly being discussed, they are still around others who understand the challenges they face. All the peer-support meetings are community-led, meaning that the facilitators leading these discussions and activities are also young adult patients living with chronic medical conditions.

Learn more about our current peer-support meetings!

Click here for more details or to register for our peer-support meetings! We currently offer six virtual meetings each month:

  • General peer-support meetings for all young adults with chronic and rare medical conditions
  • Higher education peer-support meetings for young adult patients in college or graduate school
  • Peer-support meetings for young adults with IBD (our only disease-specific group)
Key Principles Behind Our Peer Support Meetings
  • Shared experience: These peer-support spaces are built on the principle of shared experience and solidarity. This means that the individuals providing support are peers or near-peers, young adults who have lived experience with chronic medical conditions. This community represents young adult patients across disease groups, and while their experiences may not be identical, there is a lot of common ground between our community members and an inherent understanding of the various challenges we face trying to navigate this critical life stage with a chronic illness.
  • Community-led: Young adult patients need to create and lead these spaces. These peer-support groups are entirely run by young adults living with chronic conditions. Generation Patient found that compared to provider-led groups (traditionally found in medical settings), having peer-led spaces can help reduce certain power dynamics, increasing patients’ comfort, willingness to share, and overall sense of connection.
  • Validating the full spectrum of experiences: Recognising the importance of validating the full spectrum of experiences, both positive and negative, associated with living with a chronic illness. These peer-support groups provide a space for community members to discuss and acknowledge a range of experiences, challenges, and strengths. This validation helps participants feel seen and understood, empowering them to navigate real-world challenges more effectively.
  • Safe, inclusive, and accessible: Encouraging self-advocacy in this space, as well as community care, taking care of ourselves and each other in these spaces! Striving to create an open dialogue around accessibility needs and encourage flexibility and creative solutions to meet the needs of our community.

Interested in joining the next peer support sessions? Sign up here!