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Peer-to-peer support in Aphasia: the participants’ perspective on the digital network PeerPAL
(2025)
Background: Aphasia can affect health-related quality of life (HRQL), identity, and social participation. Peer contact can have a positive impact on all three aspects. However, there are barriers to the available offers (e.g., professional guidance), whereas a digital solution enables autonomous peer contact. Therefore, we developed and evaluated a customized application for autonomous, asynchronous peer contact that encourages social activities and interaction. The qualitative evaluation in this study includes evaluation of the application and psychosocial changes during the intervention. Quantitative data are published elsewhere. Method: We conducted interviews with 11 people with aphasia who had participated in our pre–post mixed-methods study. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis guided by a codebook. Results: Responses were categorized into use and evaluation of the application (three themes) and psychosocial changes during the intervention (four themes). Most interviewees reported that they would like to use the application in the future. The benefits of peer contact, digital exchange, and, thereby, social activities were positively highlighted. Moreover, there are indications of improvements in HRQL and a change in identity. Negative aspects included a lack of feedback from other participants, too few peers in the geographical area, and missing features and bugs in the application. Discussion/Conclusions: The application is suitable for establishing peer contact, which can lead to psychosocial improvements. It remains to be analyzed who benefits most from the application and at what phase of aphasia. Time since onset, social environment, and previous peer contact should be considered. In the future, a larger sample should be analyzed.