Abstract
BackgroundSiblings of children and adolescents with a chronic condition are at risk for developing psychosocial problems. It is important, that they receive appropriate support according to their needs. A sibling-specific module of an existing online intervention (Op Koers Online) for adolescents with a chronic condition might be an appropriate way to offer psychosocial support to siblings. The aim of the current study is to identify siblings’ online support needs in order to develop a sibling-specific module of the existing Op Koers Online intervention.ResultsA total of 91 siblings (mean age 15.2 years, Standard Deviation 2.7) of children with a chronic condition completed an online questionnaire; nine semi-structured interviews were held additionally. Of all participants, 55% would like to initiate or increase contact with other siblings of children with a chronic condition and 46% of those were interested in an online chat course. The themes for online support considered most important were impact on daily life, worrying about brother’s/sister’s future, handling other people’s reactions, and how attention is divided within the family.ConclusionsSiblings are interested in peer contact and online support. Op Koers Online for siblings seems to be a suitable intervention to offer online psychosocial support. The next step is to develop a sibling specific module of the Op Koers Online course, taking into account the identified themes.
Highlights
Siblings of children and adolescents with a chronic condition are at risk for developing psychosocial problems
Participants A total of 104 siblings of a child with a chronic condition completed the online questionnaire in the broad age range of 4–35 years, even though the provided information about the survey mentioned the eligible age range of 12–18 years
All results taken into account, an Op Koers Online module for siblings seems to be a suitable intervention for part of the sibling population
Summary
Siblings of children and adolescents with a chronic condition are at risk for developing psychosocial problems. It is important, that they receive appropriate support according to their needs. Children and adolescents growing up as a sibling of a child with a chronic condition, might have to cope with difficult situations. They can experience loneliness [16], worry about the prognosis of the ill child’s condition, and their brother’s/sister’s condition might affect family life and daily life [9]. Siblings had higher scores on prosocial behavior (mean as well as percentage) than the Dutch population, indicating more prosocial behavior
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