How peer support can address complex barriers to women’s health

Reflections on the role of peer support for women’s health in Scotland

In Scotland, social, economic and structural factors shape women’s health outcomes and influence whether women feel heard, supported and able to advocate for their needs. During my placement with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), I examined how peer support fits within this landscape and addresses gaps in clinical provision that many women encounter. Mapping existing services across Scotland provided an overview of their diversity and reach. Interviews with third sector peer support facilitators and practitioners revealed how women navigated this landscape in practice.

These insights sit within the broader context of gendered health inequalities, identified in the Scottish Women’s Health Plan as contributing to delayed diagnoses, unmet needs and poorer outcomes. Recognising these inequalities made it clear to me why this research mattered, offering a way to highlight the value of peer support in addressing gaps that formal services continue to struggle to meet. Taken together, the findings showed how peer support addresses these barriers by recognising the social, emotional, and structural factors shaping women’s healthcare experiences. My report, Mapping Peer Support for Women’s Health in Scotland: Insight and Impact Across Practice and Policy, explores these findings in greater detail.

My research examined the relationship between peer support, empowerment and self-advocacy. Interviews illustrated how peer support offers a distinct relational space grounded in shared experience, emotional safety and mutual understanding. Practitioners described forms of support that are infrequently available in statutory settings, including trusting and reciprocal relationships, accessible and inclusive spaces, trauma-informed practice, and lived experience leadership, which enabled women to receive holistic, person centred support.

These findings underscored for me the iterative nature of empowerment within peer support. Across interviews, I saw how relational practices, time, trust and continuity strengthened women’s confidence to advocate for their needs and engage more actively in their healthcare. This reveals how closely these processes align with the Women’s Health Plan’s emphasis on trauma-informed, person centred care and the value of lived experience. This analysis helped me understand peer support as a gender-informed relational model that makes a distinct contribution to improving women’s health outcomes and warrants greater visibility within Scotland’s wider health and social care system.

Despite its clear value, several system-level constraints shape how peer support is delivered. Organisations frequently navigate short-term funding cycles, inconsistent referral pathways and limited integration with statutory services. These conditions  undermine the scope and sustainability of this work, even though peer support aligns with national ambitions for preventive, community-based care. These pressures reflect a broader challenge: relational and empowerment-based outcomes develop gradually and are difficult to evidence within evaluation frameworks designed for short-term or quantifiable measures.

As a result, the depth and distinct contribution of peer support remain insufficiently reflected in commissioning and planning processes. The report therefore calls for sustainable investment, stronger cross-sector coordination and evaluation approaches capable of evidencing empowerment, connection and relational change, steps essential to recognising and realising the full potential of peer support within women’s health.

To read the full report see here.

Notes

Sarah undertook a research placement within the ALLIANCE in 2025 as part of her MSc Health and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde.

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