A two-session psychological intervention for siblings of pediatric cancer patients: a randomized controlled pilot trial

Abstract

BackgroundSince siblings of pediatric cancer patients are at risk for emotional, behavioral, and social problems, there is considerable interest in development of early psychological interventions. This paper aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a two-session psychological intervention for siblings of newly diagnosed pediatric cancer patients.MethodsThirty siblings age 6-17 years were randomly assigned to an intervention group or an active control group with standard psychosocial care. The manualized intervention provided to siblings in the first 2 months after the cancer diagnosis of the ill child included medical information, promotion of coping skills, and a psychoeducational booklet for parents. At 4 to 6 weeks, 4 months, and 7 months after the diagnosis, all siblings and their parents completed measures (from standardized instruments) of social support, quality of life, medical knowledge, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and anxiety.ResultsAt follow-up siblings in the intervention group showed better psychological well-being, had better medical knowledge, and reported receiving social support from more people. However, the intervention had no effects on posttraumatic stress symptoms and anxiety.ConclusionsThe results of this pilot trial suggest that a two-session sibling intervention can improve siblings' adjustment, particularly psychological well-being, in the early stage after a cancer diagnosis.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00296907

Outcomes of an enhancement study with additional psychoeducational sessions for healthy siblings of a child with cancer during inpatient family‐oriented rehabilitation

“…Participants showed improved mental health outcomes. This is in line with other studies regarding group interventions which included psychoeducation for healthy children and parents of children with a chronic disease . In Germany, specialized clinics set up a family‐oriented rehabilitation (FOR) program that offers medical and multimodal psychosocial interventions to patients and their families, including healthy children.…”

“…Previous intervention studies are limited due to heterogeneous, small samples and the lack of control groups . However, a non‐controlled mono‐centric study including families with a child diagnosed with either cancer, cystic fibrosis, or congenital heart disease showed a significant decrease in the healthy children's behavioral and emotional symptoms after the FOR‐program .…”

“…We expected that an enhanced intervention would lead to an additional benefit for the healthy children. The aim of the current study was therefore to improve the effectiveness of the FOR‐program with a special focus on healthy children, with additional psychoeducational intervention sessions given the evidence that healthy children benefit from appropriate medical information about cancer and from teaching effective coping strategies. We investigated the following hypotheses: Participants in the additional psycho‐education program show significantly greater improvement in their knowledge about cancer and more remission of their emotional symptoms (primary outcomes) compared with a control group who received FOR as usual. The healthy children's satisfaction with their family and their quality of life would be significantly more improved in the intervention group with additional psycho‐educational sessions compared with the control group receiving FOR as usual. The expected improvements would be maintained 2 months after discharge from the rehabilitation clinic. …”

Evidenced-Based Treatment of PTSD in Children and Adolescents: Where Does Psychopharmacology Fit?

“…The single controlled study of psychological debriefing in children age 8 to 17 years after a traffic accident failed to demonstrate efficacy (Stallard et al, 2006). Studies are currently underway in pediatric oncology to assess whether psychotherapeutic interventions in the initial post-diagnosis period are effective in decreasing the rate of PTSD and other psychological distress in both pediatric cancer patients and their siblings (Prchal, Graf, Bergstraesser, & Landolt, 2012). Greater research examining the use of medications and/ or therapies to decrease the risk of the development of PTSD is needed.…”

Quality of life in children with cancer and their normal siblings

“…As such, assessment of the quality of life of children with cancer and their family members is needed to determine actions that improve their quality of life. 6 We aimed to compare the quality of life between children with cancer and their normal siblings, as well as quality of life between children with hematologic malignancies and those with solid tumors.…”