Purpose
The purpose of this study was to review interventions available to nurses caring for siblings of children with cancer.
Methods
Searches of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and RISS identified ten intervention studies published from January, 2000 to November, 2016.
Results
Ten studies on interventions for siblings of pediatric cancer patients were identified as follows: 4 included camps, 4 included support groups, and 2 provided individual interventions. Theoretical frameworks were mainly cognitive behavioral theory and most studies were led by psychologists and multidisciplinary teams. The purpose of the interventions was primarily enhancing psychosocial adjustment. Siblings’ fear of disease, self-esteem, and social support were improved significantly after the interventions. Findings were inconsistent with regard to depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, post-traumatic stress, health-related quality of life, and siblings’ perceptions of the illness.
Conclusion
Study findings showed the potential for enhancing emotional and behavioral outcomes in siblings of children with cancer. However, the number of studies was very small, and several methodological limitations were identified. In the future, more randomized controlled trials with larger samples are needed to extend the evidence base. Moreover, future research should identify sibling’s characteristics and circumstances most likely to bring benefits to the siblings.

Citations

• Development and effects of an internet-based family resilience-promoting program for parents of children with cancer: A randomized controlled trial
  Mina Park, Sunah Kim, Hyejung Lee, Yoon Jung Shin, Chuhl Joo Lyu, Eun Kyoung Choi
  European Journal of Oncology Nursing.2023; 64: 102332.     CrossRef
• Measurement Properties of Self-Report Questionnaires Measuring the Social Adjustment for Youth after Treatment of Childhood Cancer: Systematic Review
  Su-Mi Oh, Sun-Young Park, Hye-Jung Lee, Ju Hee Lee
  Child Health Nursing Research.2018; 24(1): 78.     CrossRef

Purpose
This study was conducted to define the concept of stress in siblings of childhood cancer patients.
Methods
The hybrid model was used to perform the concept analysis of stress in childhood cancer patients’ siblings. Through reviews of 16 studies in the theoretical phase and interviews with 20 siblings in the field phase, the derived results were brought together in the integration phase.
Results
The concept of stress in siblings of patients with childhood cancer was found to have 6 attributes and 28 indicators in 3 domains. Personal factors included 2 attributes (fear about childhood cancer and immature coping skills), and family factors had 2 attributes (changes in relationships with family and changes in family environment), social factors had 2 attributes (changes in relationships with friends and in the school experience, and insufficient social support).
Conclusion
The stress of siblings of childhood cancer patients was defined as a state of tension associated with personal, family, social factors that can be related to their siblings’ childhood cancer. The findings in this study provide the base for the development of a tool for measuring siblings’ stress and/or the development of nursing programs for these siblings.

Citations

• Educational needs of people with type 1 diabetes mellitus and their parents: A cross‐sectional study
  Mi‐Kyoung Cho, Mi Young Kim
  Nursing Open.2023; 10(7): 4849.     CrossRef
• Development of a Stress Scale for Siblings of Childhood Cancer Patients
  Juyoun Yu, Kyung-Sook Bang, Hyoung Kang
  Children.2021; 8(4): 265.     CrossRef
• A Systematic Review of Interventions with Siblings of Pediatric Cancer Patients
  Soo-yeon Han, Ji-Hye Hwang, Cho-hee Kim, Hye-young Jang, Kyung-Sook Bang
  Child Health Nursing Research.2017; 23(3): 394.     CrossRef

Illness is a situational crisis which affects entire family members. Children have different experiences and responses when their sibling has a cancer. There are many studies on sibling experiences to childhood cancer which have many problems in the USA. The main purpose of this study is to describe sibling experiences to childhood cancer accurately and coprehensively by collecting data from sibling to provide the data to develop nursing interventions for the families with childhood cancer. The data was collected from October 1 to November 6, 1995. A total of ten siblings with childhood cancer were interviewed. The meaningful contents were classified and categorized to four areas. Theses areas include knowledge and perception related to illness, changes in family life, changes in school life, and siblings' marturation. The results of this study were as follows : 1. Knowledge and perception related to childhood cancer : Children had limited knowledge about illness and expressed the desire to know more about sibling's illness. 2. Changes in family and school life : Children expressed loneness, emptiness, sadness, depression about separation with the mother and sibling, family mood change, leisure activities and financial difficulties. Many children reported that their school performance had suffered since sibling's illness. 3. Maturation of children : Some positive outcomes related to having a sibling with a cancer are maturation, increased affection for the sibling, empathy for their parents. The results of this study indicate that it is important to develop comprehensive nursing intervention programs for the families with a childhood cancer.