College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Primary Children's Hospital, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2023 Oct;12(5):685-691. doi: 10.1089/jayao.2022.0151. Epub 2023 Feb 10.
A diagnosis of pediatric cancer can leave healthy siblings with limited access to support. Technology-mediated interpersonal interactions have been noted among adolescent and young adults with cancer and may be an effective source of support for adolescent siblings of children with cancer. In this study, we understand how adolescent siblings use technology to connect with their support network and how their technology use changes after their sibling's cancer diagnosis. Participants included a national sample ( = 24) of adolescents aged 12-17 who had a sibling diagnosed with cancer in the last 2 years (up to 3 years if still receiving curative-focused treatment). Ecomaps were cocreated with participants to identify sources of social support and modality of interactions. Interviews were transcribed, coded, content analyzed, and descriptively summarized. Adolescent siblings (mean = 14.2 years) perceived technology as a tool to maintain support from their established personal network, rather than a way to expand sources of social support. Most did not seek support or information about cancer outside their known network, preferring information to come from parents or trusted network members. Siblings identified video calls as an important resource for connecting with parents, their sick brother or sister, and others to receive emotional support and companionship. Findings suggest that adolescent siblings of children use technology to connect with their established network for support, an important finding for designing assessments and interventions for this population. Future inquiry should explore these differences, identify unmet needs, and inform acceptable, effective interventions to augment support.
儿童癌症的诊断可能会使健康的兄弟姐妹获得的支持有限。有研究指出，青少年癌症患者和青年患者会通过技术进行人际互动，这可能是癌症患儿青少年兄弟姐妹获得支持的有效来源。在本研究中，我们了解了青少年兄弟姐妹如何使用技术与支持网络建立联系，以及在其兄弟姐妹癌症诊断后他们的技术使用方式如何发生变化。
参与者包括一个全国性样本（n=24），他们的兄弟姐妹在过去 2 年内（如果仍在接受以治愈为中心的治疗，则为 3 年内）被诊断患有癌症，年龄在 12-17 岁之间。与参与者共同创建了生态图，以确定社会支持的来源和互动模式。对访谈进行了转录、编码、内容分析，并进行了描述性总结。
青少年兄弟姐妹（平均年龄=14.2 岁）认为技术是维持其现有个人网络支持的工具，而不是扩展社会支持来源的方式。他们大多数人不会在自己已知的网络之外寻求支持或癌症相关信息，而是更喜欢从父母或信任的网络成员那里获取信息。兄弟姐妹认为视频通话是与父母、生病的兄弟姐妹以及其他人联系以获得情感支持和陪伴的重要资源。
研究结果表明，儿童癌症患儿的青少年兄弟姐妹使用技术与他们的既定网络建立联系以获得支持，这对于为该人群设计评估和干预措施是一个重要发现。未来的研究应该探讨这些差异，确定未满足的需求，并为增强支持提供可接受和有效的干预措施。
