Abstract:
Peer education involves peers offering credible and reliable information about
sensitive life issues through the means of an informal peer group setting (Topping &
Ehly, 1998). The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine the processes of
peer education through the exploration of two teams within a young adult tobacco control
initiative, Leave the Pack Behind (LTPB). This qualitative case study examined two peer
education teams over an eight-month period. Interviews, focus groups and observations
were conducted with 12 participants across two peer education teams. Findings show the
complexities of the processes of peer education including a connection between the
stages of change and the changing role of the peer educator across stages of the
empowerment process. Peer education teams and factors in the macro environment were
also found to impact the process of peer education. This study provides a new definition
for the process of peer education: peer education is a fluid process of knowledge
exchange in which peer educators adopt different styles of facilitation as people move
through stages of empowerment and change. This study contributes to the academic
hterature upon the processes of peer education by providing a definition, a model and an
overall understanding through an ecological and empowerment framework. The findings
from this study suggest peer educators can be further trained to: use specific peer
educational approaches that fit with student smoker's stage of change; better understand
their position as a peer educator on the LTPB team; understand the reciprocal relationship
between the macro environment and the peer education teams having an effect on one
another.
