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Information needs of the siblings of critically ill children
C Kleiber1, L A Montgomery, M Craft-Rosenberg
1University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City 52242, USA.
Insights
Parents may underestimate siblings' information needs during a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Siblings have many questions, indicating parents need support to address their children's understanding and emotional needs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care
- Family psychology
- Child development
Background:
- Pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) admissions present unique challenges for families.
- Siblings of critically ill children often experience emotional distress and information gaps.
- Understanding sibling information needs is crucial for holistic family-centered care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore parental and sibling perceptions of information needs during a pediatric ICU admission.
- To identify discrepancies between information provided by parents and information received by siblings.
- To inform interventions supporting siblings in the ICU setting.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative research design.
- Semi-structured interviews with parents (n=14) and school-age siblings (n=12) of pediatric ICU patients.
- Thematic analysis of interview data.
Main Results:
- Parents and siblings reported similar themes of information exchanged.
- Siblings expressed numerous questions regarding the reason for hospitalization and future family expectations.
- Parents may lack awareness of the siblings' experiences and skills to provide adequate information.
Conclusions:
- Parents may not fully recognize the impact of the ICU experience on siblings.
- Parents may require counseling and education to better support siblings' information needs.
- Addressing sibling information needs is essential for mitigating adverse effects of pediatric critical illness.
Abstract:
This study explored parental and sibling perceptions and feelings about sibling information needs during a pediatric admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Using a qualitative research design, parents (n = 14) and school-age siblings (n = 12) of children who were patients in ICU were interviewed using open-ended questions. Themes of information that the parents report having given to the siblings were similar to the themes that siblings report having heard. However, parents reported that the siblings had numerous questions about the reasons for hospitalization and expectations for the future of the family. The findings indicate that parents may neither be aware of the effects of the ICU experience on the siblings nor have the knowledge and skill to assist them. Parents may need counseling to increase their awareness of the siblings' need for information and teaching to increase skill in providing the information.