Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation
Abstract
A QMS was conducted to describe the sibling experiences of children discharged from the PICU to promote future research of the sibling experience and identify interventions for sibling support. The research question was: what are the experiences of siblings of children discharged from the PICU?
When a child is in the PICU, the family must face life-threatening diagnoses and difficult decisions. This stress impacts family dynamics shared by parents and children (Rennick et al., 2021). Siblings may assume additional responsibilities without having the support of their parents. Manning et al. (2017) identified siblings have unmet needs that are not fully understood.
A literature search was performed using CINAHL, PubMed, APA PsycINFO, Medline, and SCOPUS with search terms sibling, critically ill, and pediatric. The inclusion criteria were qualitative or mixed methods research reports with qualitative findings published in English investigating the experiences of a sibling of a child discharged from a PICU. The exclusion criteria were studies including the loss of a sibling as these events address more complex experiences in grief. The initial database searches produced 173 research reports. After removal of duplicates, 93 research reports remained. A full text review was completed for 40 research reports. Thirty-one of these did not meet inclusion criteria. Nine research reports were included.
Two overall themes (stressors and coping) were identified. Stressors were identified as changes related to the PICU experience testing the ability of siblings to adapt and utilize resources. Four subthemes represent sources of stress: PICU visitation (seeing their sibling experience a critical illness), parental stress (watching parents’ emotions), relationships (family and social contacts), and family function (day to day family actions). Coping was identified as what helped manage the stressors encountered. Four subthemes for coping are the clinical team (support provided by clinicians), distractions (activities to keep their minds off stressors), communication (information shared about their sibling), and support (actions to help them or their family).
By understanding the stressors and coping mechanisms experienced by siblings, nurses can provide resources to the parents and siblings to support siblings and influence long-term psychological impacts for the family. Findings suggest research is needed with siblings to better understand their unique experiences.
Sigma Membership
Psi Epsilon
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Meta-Analysis/Synthesis
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, PICU, Sibling Experiences, Stress and Coping
Recommended Citation
Keller, Jessica, "The Sibling Experience of Pediatric Patients Discharged from the PICU: Qualitative Meta-Synthesis" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 191.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/posters_2025/191
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
The Sibling Experience of Pediatric Patients Discharged from the PICU: Qualitative Meta-Synthesis
Seattle, Washington, USA
A QMS was conducted to describe the sibling experiences of children discharged from the PICU to promote future research of the sibling experience and identify interventions for sibling support. The research question was: what are the experiences of siblings of children discharged from the PICU?
When a child is in the PICU, the family must face life-threatening diagnoses and difficult decisions. This stress impacts family dynamics shared by parents and children (Rennick et al., 2021). Siblings may assume additional responsibilities without having the support of their parents. Manning et al. (2017) identified siblings have unmet needs that are not fully understood.
A literature search was performed using CINAHL, PubMed, APA PsycINFO, Medline, and SCOPUS with search terms sibling, critically ill, and pediatric. The inclusion criteria were qualitative or mixed methods research reports with qualitative findings published in English investigating the experiences of a sibling of a child discharged from a PICU. The exclusion criteria were studies including the loss of a sibling as these events address more complex experiences in grief. The initial database searches produced 173 research reports. After removal of duplicates, 93 research reports remained. A full text review was completed for 40 research reports. Thirty-one of these did not meet inclusion criteria. Nine research reports were included.
Two overall themes (stressors and coping) were identified. Stressors were identified as changes related to the PICU experience testing the ability of siblings to adapt and utilize resources. Four subthemes represent sources of stress: PICU visitation (seeing their sibling experience a critical illness), parental stress (watching parents’ emotions), relationships (family and social contacts), and family function (day to day family actions). Coping was identified as what helped manage the stressors encountered. Four subthemes for coping are the clinical team (support provided by clinicians), distractions (activities to keep their minds off stressors), communication (information shared about their sibling), and support (actions to help them or their family).
By understanding the stressors and coping mechanisms experienced by siblings, nurses can provide resources to the parents and siblings to support siblings and influence long-term psychological impacts for the family. Findings suggest research is needed with siblings to better understand their unique experiences.
Description
This offering presents the outcomes of a qualitative meta-synthesis focused on the experiences of siblings of critically ill children discharged from the pediatric intensive care unit.