The Emotional Experience and Perceived Changes in Siblings of Children With Cancer Reported During a Group Intervention.

Purpose/objectives: To examine the experiences and perceived changes in siblings of children with cancer while participating in a group intervention program. 
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Research Approach: Repeated observations during group participation and content analysis. 
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Setting: A tertiary pediatric health center in Ontario, Canada.
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Participants: Twenty-two siblings (aged 7-18 years) of children with cancer. 
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Methodologic Approach: Siblings participated in the Siblings Coping Together program, an eight-week group intervention designed for this population. Data consisted of materials completed by siblings (49 homework sheets, 33 pieces of artwork), and 31 logs recording events within group sessions. 
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Findings: Three categories emerged from the data.

Conclusions: These findings provide rich insight into siblings' own views of changes in themselves and within the family, as well as the perceived benefits of group participation. 
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Interpretation: Methodologically, this study demonstrated that the inclusion of visual materials as data is a valid methodology for future research. Clinically, these findings can help nurses in their daily care of children with cancer and their families.