Table 4 Peer Supporter attributes

Qualities

Empathetic

Non-judgemental. So if you don’t succeed they’re not on your back and you know, “this is really what you should be doing” or you know, but just sort of be gentle. FG2

Encouraging

You find a lot of these groups, WeightWatchers and some of these, the ones that are very popular are with somebody who is very good at taking the group and really is very motivated and motivates everybody else.FG4

Sense of Humour

Has to be able to take a joke. FG3

Attributes

Personal Experience

I think you need a role model. You need someone that you can say, “well, if they’ve done it I can do it” and someone who’s been there will understand the pitfalls and give you good support. FG8

Knowledge

I think the supporter needs to have a basic understanding of health issues, because there’s no use Glenda and I, me saying to Glenda, “oh you just have to do this and your blood pressure will go down. Mine is down.” There’s obviously something different between your genetic makeup and mine that my blood pressure never goes up, and my husband’s on blood pressure tablets. So there’s no point me trying to support Glenda and saying “do this, do this because it worked for me.” There has to be a basic understanding of health issues and various things. FG4

They are tuned in to people’s needs money wise and stuff, it’s not somebody coming from Malone [affluent area of Belfast] saying “oh you should have this, this and this” when really that’s not in people’s budgets, it’s not realistic. FG2

Skills

Communication

They have to be able to communicate the message in a convincing way. FG10

Active Listening

Somebody who listens and would have empathy but he or she doesn’t have to have anything in common, as long as you could have a rapport. FG1