Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Sibling Collaborative, Canada.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2021 Jan;65(1):1-10. doi: 10.1111/jir.12793. Epub 2020 Oct 30.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) to lose their daily routines and social support, and as a result, many adults with IDD are increasingly reliant on their family caregivers. Siblings often play a crucial support role for their brothers and sisters with IDD. As such, this study aimed to describe the experiences of adult siblings of people with IDD during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sibling Collaborative worked with researchers to codesign an online survey, completed by 91 people, exploring sibling supports and concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey also aimed to identify helpful resources for siblings during this time.
The results showed that the majority of siblings are supporting their brother or sister with IDD during the COVID-19 pandemic and are concerned about the health and well-being of their brother/sister. The most common concern related to disruption of their brother's or sister's routine and activities. Although responses of older and younger siblings did not differ from each other, siblings whose brother or sister with IDD lived with family had some unique concerns relative to those whose siblings no longer lived with family. Siblings described how their own self-care and relationships with others, as well as support for their brother/sister, were particularly helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Siblings are providing key support to their brother or sister with IDD during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they too must be supported. Siblings should be included in efforts to disseminate resources targeting people with IDD and their feedback and input must be obtained. It is also important to include sibling mental wellness as caregiver supports are created and implemented. More research is needed to further understand how to support sibling caregivers.
COVID-19 大流行导致许多智障/发育障碍（IDD）成年人失去日常活动和社会支持，因此，许多智障成年人越来越依赖他们的家庭照顾者。兄弟姐妹通常为智障兄弟姐妹提供关键支持。因此，本研究旨在描述 COVID-19 大流行期间智障成年人兄弟姐妹的经历。
兄弟姐妹合作组织与研究人员合作设计了一份在线调查，由 91 人完成，旨在探索 COVID-19 大流行期间兄弟姐妹的支持和关注。该调查还旨在确定在此期间对兄弟姐妹有帮助的资源。
结果表明，大多数兄弟姐妹在 COVID-19 大流行期间都在支持他们的智障兄弟姐妹，并且关心他们的健康和福祉。最常见的担忧与他们智障兄弟或姐妹的日常生活和活动被打乱有关。尽管年长和年幼的兄弟姐妹的反应没有不同，但与那些智障兄弟姐妹不住在一起的家庭相比，智障兄弟姐妹与家人住在一起的家庭有一些独特的担忧。兄弟姐妹描述了他们自己的自我保健以及与他人的关系，以及对他们智障兄弟姐妹的支持，在 COVID-19 大流行期间特别有帮助。
兄弟姐妹在 COVID-19 大流行期间为他们的智障兄弟姐妹提供了关键支持，他们也必须得到支持。应该将兄弟姐妹纳入针对智障人士及其反馈和投入的资源传播工作中。在创建和实施照顾者支持时，还必须包括兄弟姐妹的心理健康。需要进一步研究如何支持兄弟姐妹照顾者。
