Following his earlier patient’s lead and a successful pilot study, Parthasarathy and colleagues designed a program that pairs patients newly diagnosed with sleep apnea with mentors known as “peer-buddies,” experienced CPAP users who can share their success stories, enthusiasm, and practical tips.

These peer-buddies also convey the dire risks of untreated sleep apnea. “It’s one thing to hear it from me, it’s another for a peer to lay the cards on the table,” Parthasarathy says.

In the study, which is well under way, 257 sleep apnea patients from Tucson sleep centers are randomized to participate in a peer-buddy program or receive standard care. Fifty volunteers serve as peer-buddies.

“We cherry-pick them,” Parthasarathy says. “Mentors should be nice people, who can deliver the message consistently. They need an if-I-can-do-it-you-can-too mentality. Seeing someone they can aspire to be, who’s crossed over to the other side, gives new patients confidence.”

Mentors learn the ropes in two hour-long training sessions, and they receive a manual detailing how to educate others on risks of sleep apnea and benefits of treatment.

"I see my role as cheerleader, if the person is doing everything she should," says Nancy Callicotte, who is mentoring two patients. "If she's having difficulties, I'm a resource." One of her patients needed to try a different mask and get the pressure adjusted. "We worked through that," Callicotte says. "It was rewarding to be able to encourage her, to see how well it worked for her."

Callicotte directs patients to seek medical advice when necessary, she says. But she also provides help others can't. "One of my people asked me how my husband felt about my using the CPAP machine—that’s a question she might not ask her doctor or respiratory therapist."

Within the first three months of the study, patients receive two in-person visits from their peer-buddies for hands-on help in getting the CPAP machine to work and eight follow-up phone calls. In the next three months, another eight phone calls provide additional aid, comfort, and counseling as necessary.

And there's more: the researchers added an interactive voice response system to supplement peer-buddy support and coordinate care. If patients have questions, problems, or concerns, they can directly contact their peer-buddy, as well as members of their treatment team—doctors, respiratory therapists, nurse-practitioners, and medical equipment representatives—via voice mail, text, or email. This automated communication process uses cell phones (for which participants are reimbursed) to eliminate the medical office bottlenecks that frequently block patients’ access to their healthcare providers, Parthasarathy says.

One of the mentor's first tasks is to tutor the patient through the intricacies of the voice response system.