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Table 2 Characteristics of the included studies: characteristics of peer support, frequency, length and theory basis of intervention, and description of usual care group
| First author and year | Mode of peer support | Enrollment criteria for Peer coach or CHW | Training for peer coach or CHW | Group/Individual | Frequency of intervention | Length of intervention | Theory basis | Description of usual care group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thom 2013 [35] | Peer coach | T2DM who had an HbA1c level of less than 8.5% within the past 6 months | 36-hour | Individual (telephone contact and in-person contact) | High | 6 months | None | Usual care included all services usually available to patients, including access to a nutritionist and diabetes educator through referral from their primary care clinician. |
| Dang 2013 [36] | Peer coach | T2DM for one year or more, 30 years old or older, and with HbA1c level in the most recent three months equal to or less than 7%. | Four sessions | Individual (telephone contact) | Moderate | 6 months | Social cognitive theory | Follow up at the diabetes outpatient clinic on different dates from the participants in the intervention group to prevent subject contamination. |
| Prezio 2013 [37] | CHW | Adult female lifelong member of the local Mexican American community, with a high school equivalency (General Educational Development: GED) and certification from the State of Texas as a CHW. | 27 h | Individual | Low | 12 months | Social cognitive theory | Usual medical care. |
| Long 2012 [38] | Peer coach or mentors | Diabetes patients whose glucose control had previously been poor but was currently good. | 1 hour | Individual (telephone contact) | Low | 6 months | Motivational interviewing techniques | Usual care. |
| Spencer 2011 [39] | CHW | Family health advocates, from the 2 participating communities, where they were ethnically matched with their assigned participants | more than 80 hours | Both | High | 6 months | Motivational interviewing and Empowerment theory | Usual care. |
| Smith 2011 [17] | Peer supporter | T2DM for at least one year; adherent to treatment and behavior change regimens; Capacity and commitment to undergo the training required etc. | Two evening training sessions | Group | Low | 24 months | Social support theory | Provided regular recall of patients every three to six months with an annual audit of risk factors. |
| Lorig 2009 [18] | Peer leaders | Age from 35 to 70 years and came from the same communities as the participants. Most had type 2 diabetes and were not health professionals | 4 days | Group | Low | 6 months | None | Usual care was representative of care received in urban areas. |
| Lorig 2008 [40] | Peer leader | Spanish-speaking peer leaders came from the same communities as the participants most had type 2 diabetes and were not health professionals | 4 days | Group | Moderate | 6 months | None | Usual care. |
| Murrock 2009 [41] | Peer coach | NR | NR | Group | High | 3 months | Social cognitive theory | Usual care group continued with their normal daily routines, medication schedule, diet, and glucose-monitoring regimen. |
| Philis-Tsimikas 2011 [42] | Peer educators | Individuals with diabetes who exemplified the traits of a natural leader were identified from the patient population and trained as promotoras over a 3-month period | 40 h learning, 2 series of classes and then finally taught two series on their own. | Group | High | 10 months | None | Usual care. |
| Lujan 2007 [43] | Peer promotoras | NR | 60 hours | Group | High | 6 months | Community empowerment | Usual one-on-one patient education by the clinic staff during scheduled medical follow-up visits, which consisted of verbal information and 1 or 2 pamphlets on diabetes self-management skills. |
| Samuel-Hodge 2009 [46] | Peer counselor | T2DM or having lived with someone diagnosed with diabetes for at least 2 years | over a 1-month period (4 weekly 4-hour sessions) | Both | High | 8 months | None | Received standard educational pamphlets by mail. |
| Feathers 2005 [45] | CHW | African American and Latino community residents | 10 weeks | Group | Low | 10 months | NR | Usual care. |
