TY - JOUR
T1 - Hearing siblings’ voices: exploring the (online) support needs of siblings of children with a chronic condition
AU - Joosten, M. M. H.
AU - Maurice-Stam, H.
AU - Scholten, L.
AU - Grootenhuis, M. A.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Background: 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. 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. Results: A 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. Conclusions: Siblings 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.
AB - Background: 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. 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. Results: A 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. Conclusions: Siblings 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.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85077591371&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30756203
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-019-0102-9
DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-019-0102-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 30756203
SN - 2509-8020
VL - 3
JO - Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes
JF - Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes
IS - 1
M1 - 11
ER -