Time to Talk service evaluation
Title: Time to Talk service evaluation; Author: Dr Gina Floyd, RNIB; Publisher: RNIB
Background
This report is an evaluation of the Cabinet Office and NESTA funded Time to Talk telephone peer-support service. With a view to testing the success of our many telephone peer-support services, RNIB co-produced a series of telephone group sessions for older people living with sight loss. 1,027 people with sight loss took part in the sessions and 4,108 hours of peer-support contact were delivered by staff and volunteers. The research took place between November 2014 and March 2016 and provides the first RNIB produced evidence of the efficacy of peer support services using validated evaluation measures.
Key Findings
- Wellbeing of Time to Talk participants increased in all areas. People feel inspired by hearing other people’s attitudes and experiences, this leads to an increase in people’s levels of confidence and the ability to seek further support.
- Sharing tips, experiences and coping mechanisms with each other is one of the key successes of the project. People now feel more able to share and help others.
- People are more knowledgeable about the services and support available to help them live with sight loss. They feel empowered to identify their own needs and to act on seeking support.
Related resources
To read more about NESTA's standards of evidence and their analysis of RNIB's evaluation visit www.nesta.org.uk/royal-national-institute-blind-rnib