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ABSTRACT
Background
In the aftermath of the Germanwings crash in 2015, several regulations have been instituted around pilots’ mental health issues and flight safety. One of these (CAT.GEN.MPA.215) stipulates that European operators are to implement a Peer Support Program to encourage pilots’ self-referral of mental health issues and identify mental wellbeing issues as early as possible. However, knowledge is scarce regarding how effective these programs are on a range of outcomes.
Objective
This systematic review aimed to identify articles investigating peer support programs and their effectiveness in preventing and detecting mental health issues, in commercial aviation and other high-risk organizations.
Method
A systematic search was performed in three databases, following the structure of the PRISMA guidelines. All articles (2.123) were exported to Rayyan Citation, where the screening process was performed.
Results
Four articles met the final inclusion criteria. Overall, the search revealed little empirical evidence of the effectiveness of peer support in detecting and preventing mental health.
Conclusion
Although there is limited or no evidence in any direction, the peer support programs seem to be without evident harm and were generally appreciated. The insufficient empirical evidence is nonetheless concerning, with these programs being implemented throughout Europe in such a high-risk context as the aviation industry. The results highlight the importance of more research on peer support in aviation.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).