30 January 2025
School-based social and educational support for siblings of children with cancer - Siblings' and parents’ feedback on an intervention proposal (SUPREME)
Ph.D. student Minna Devantier and Professor Ayo Wahlberg has together with a team of researchers specialized in childhood cancer; Marianne Olsen, Mette A. Neergaard, Natasha N. Boensvang and Hanne B. Larsen published the article ‘School-based social and educational support for siblings of children with cancer - Siblings' and parents’ feedback on an intervention proposal (SUPREME)’ in European Journal of Oncology Nursing. Siblings of children with cancer experience the consequences of their brother or sister's disease and treatment firsthand, often causing social and school-related difficulties. This article is based on findings from the SUPREME research project which aimed to gather parents' and siblings' feedback on a school-based social and educational support intervention for siblings. The goal is to tailor a program to meet the needs of siblings.
In their article, the authors show that both parents and siblings recognized: 1) the need to inform the class about the family's situation, 2) the need for the timing and content of the support to align with the family's stage in the cancer journey. 3) Parents' concerns centered on potentially imposing experiences on siblings, losing school as a ‘free space’, and the risk of siblings standing out. 4) Siblings' concerns related to a fear of losing control over the cancer-related information at school and the reactions of peers. The final SUPREME intervention involved clarifying family meetings before two educational, nurse-led school visits addressing challenges relevant to siblings' academic and social lives.
Overall, the participants’ responses to the intervention proposal played a key role in shaping the final intervention, encompassing valuable insights into precautions necessary for implementing school-based support for siblings of children with cancer.
Keywords: Cancer, Childhood cancer, Pediatric oncology, Psycho-oncology, Psycho-socioal intervention, Siblings, Social support
The article is open access and can be accessed online.