Supporting siblings of children with chronic medical conditions: a systematic review

Siblings of youth with chronic medical conditions (CMCs) experience a variety of family changes and are at risk for psychosocial problems. To support siblings, many medical specialties agree that evidence-based, sibling-focused interventions could be beneficial. This systematic review sought to understand the current evidence of psychosocial interventions for siblings of youth with any CMC.

PsycINFO, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, ERIC, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global were searched for studies that assessed psychosocial outcomes of interventions delivered to siblings of youth with CMCs. A narrative synthesis of the findings was conducted, and quality appraisal was assessed using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool. This project was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute under award K08CA293333 and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences under award number K12TR004788.

Thirty-two studies describing 27 unique interventions met the inclusion criteria. Most interventions were designed for siblings of children with cancer and delivered in hospital settings. Interventions focused on a range of sibling outcomes across a range of validated and nonvalidated measures Interventions varied widely in their delivery, objectives, and designs, with only two utilizing a randomized controlled trial, resulting in low study quality.

Findings highlight significant gaps in psychosocial interventions for healthy siblings of youth across CMCs. More rigorous intervention designs, standardized measures, and inclusion of siblings outside oncology could improve psychosocial support for siblings across a range of illness populations.