Peer Support Interventions in HIV Care
Summary
Peer support interventions in HIV care harness the lived experience of people living with HIV to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), retention in care and psychosocial wellbeing. These interventions range from one-to-one mentoring and facilitated support groups to structured peer navigation within clinical settings. Peers offer practical assistance—such as accompaniment to appointments, help navigating complex health services and reinforcement of medical advice—as well as emotional support through sharing coping strategies and normalising the experience of living with HIV. Evidence indicates that peer-delivered services can improve ART adherence, increase viral suppression rates and reduce perceived stigma, particularly when integrated into differentiated care models that tailor services according to individual needs. At a global level, peer support has demonstrated effectiveness in diverse settings, including low-resource environments, middle-income regions and high-income countries. By bridging gaps between community and clinical care, peer interventions strengthen programme responsiveness, foster trust in health systems and empower communities to co-produce solutions. As health services adapt to evolving challenges—such as sustaining long-term treatment outcomes and addressing mental health—peer support continues to offer a scalable, context-sensitive strategy for enhancing the quality and reach of HIV care.
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Peer Support Interventions in HIV Care publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in peer support interventions in hiv care across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Peer support intervention: A service delivered by people with shared lived experience to assist others in managing HIV through education, encouragement and practical assistance.
Peer navigation: A form of peer support in which trained individuals guide clients through health systems, helping to overcome barriers to testing, treatment initiation and retention in care.
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence: The extent to which a person living with HIV takes their antiretroviral medications as prescribed, critical for achieving viral suppression.
Viral suppression: The reduction of HIV viral load in the blood to undetectable levels, achieved through consistent ART adherence and essential for individual health and prevention of transmission.
References
- Peer-Led Community-Based Support Services and HIV Treatment Outcomes Among People Living With HIV in Wuxi, China: Propensity Score–Matched Analysis of Surveillance Data From 2006 to 2021. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (2023).
- Revealing an enabling environment: How clinical community and clinical stakeholders understand peer navigation to improve quality of life for people living with HIV in Australia. Frontiers in Public Health (2023).
- A Scoping Review of Peer Navigation Programs for People Living with HIV: Form, Function and Effects. AIDS and Behavior (2022).
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