14. Isabella Larizza, BS

Peer mentoring, in which patients provide emotional and practical guidance to patients undergoing similar treatment, is emerging as a significant component of supportive care for patients with hematologic malignancies. The Supporting Transplant Experiences with Peer Program (STEPP) is a five-session, manualized, phone-based, peer mentor intervention delivered by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) survivors to patients undergoing HSCT. Twenty HSCT survivors identified by their transplant care clinicians to be suitable STEPP peer mentor interventionists (PMIs) completed training on serving as a STEPP PMI, the STEPP intervention with their assigned patient, and a semi-structured interview to explore PMI perspectives on the STEPP intervention. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using rapid analytic methods by two coders. The median age of participants was 63.5 years. Most PMIs were male (65%, n=13), Catholic Christian (30%; n=6), retired (60%; n=12), married (95%; n=19), identified as White (95%, n=19), and had at least a college degree (75%; n=15). PMIs reported positive outcomes associated with serving as a STEPP PMI, emotional challenges faced by PMIs, and methods to improve STEPP, which underscores the necessity of interventionist and survivor input in the continued development and refinement of peer mentor programming for HSCT recipients.