Feasibility of group intervention for bereaved siblings after pediatric cancer death

Abstract

This study evaluated the feasibility (acceptability, recruitment, retention rates, treatment fidelity, and outcome measures) of implementing a manualized group intervention for bereaved siblings after pediatric cancer death. A convenience sample of 10 siblings participated. The intervention consisted of eight 2-hour sessions that focused on strategies for coping with grief, relationships, and emotional growth. Positive outcomes were obtained with respect to acceptability, recruitment, retention rates, and treatment fidelity. Preliminary outcomes were mixed. Parent pre- and post-intervention outcomes suggested improvements in siblings' overall emotional and social quality of life. Siblings' self-reports reflected no improvements. These data support the feasibility of conducting this intervention and suggest beneficial outcomes based on parental reports. Further research is recommended to evaluate the group intervention efficacy with a large sample using a randomized controlled trial to address the needs of bereaved siblings.

Psychosocial outcomes in cancer‐bereaved children and adolescents: A systematic review

“…Characteristics of the included studies are shown in Table . Ten studies addressed parental bereavement, and 14 studies addressed sibling bereavement . To our knowledge, the 24 included studies published between 1983 and 2017 are based on 13 research projects.…”

“…To our knowledge, the 24 included studies published between 1983 and 2017 are based on 13 research projects. Six projects were conducted in the USA, 2 in Sweden, 2 in Canada and the USA, and 1 in Canada, Japan, and Great Britain, respectively. Twenty studies reported cross‐sectional results of childhood cancer bereavement, with outcomes being assessed between 0 and 17 years after loss.…”

“…Three studies investigated psychosocial outcomes before and up to 12 months after loss. In one intervention study, baseline data were collected 6 to 30 months after loss. The 2 Swedish projects used large, population‐based samples (N = 174‐622), obtained from national death, cancer and population registers.…”

“…The 2 Swedish projects used large, population‐based samples (N = 174‐622), obtained from national death, cancer and population registers. All other studies were based on smaller convenience samples (N = 10‐105) …”

“…Four studies included a nonbereaved comparison group with matching age and gender . Results of cancer‐bereaved CaA were compared with normative data in 10 studies …”