{
  "abstract": "Objectives Social support interventions show promise for improving health, yet evidence regarding their effectiveness and optimal approaches remains limited. We aimed to examine social support intervention outcomes.Design Scoping review.Data sources PubMed/Medline, Elsevier EMBASE, NIBAHL and APA PsychInfo. The search was last conducted in October 2024.Eligibility criteria Included studies reported the effects of interventions on the social support outcomes, mental health or physical health of adults with chronic health conditions or disabilities. Studies were excluded if interventions did not aim to build or strengthen sustainable social support or did not provide quantitative outcome data.Data extraction and synthesis We extracted data on intervention characteristics, intervention elements and effect sizes. We synthesised effect sizes based on outcome type and intervention provider, then examined patterns in effect sizes.Results Interventions (n=110) were commonly delivered by peer mentors (35.1%) or mental health professionals (35.4%), primarily targeting emotional and informational support. There were small to moderate intervention effects. Skill-building interventions delivered by health professionals appeared more effective than peer-delivered interventions, but results were inconsistent across studies and there were still meaningful effects from peer mentorship.Conclusions Effective interventions actively facilitated meaningful support by providing resources, assistance or health behaviour encouragement. Multicomponent interventions combining professional expertise with peer mentorship may optimise outcomes. Future research should further compare intervention components and formats and establish clear mechanisms linking social support improvements to health outcomes through larger-scale effectiveness trials.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Jessica Kersey"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Sangjin Lee"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Lisa Tabor Connor"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Sarah Shyres"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Elnaz Alimi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Noemi Rojas Serrano"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Moon Young Kim"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan"
      ],
      "name": "Phan Van Sang"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Noelle Casem"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Christian Le"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Bernard Becker Medical Library, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Kim Lipsey"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "John G. Rangos Sr. School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Elena Donoso Brown"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of social support interventions on social, physical and mental health outcomes: a scoping review",
  "uid": "dd2dafe3-8977-52c4-9a22-81dbb2242909"
}