“In the shadow of the disease”: a literature review about the experience of complex chronic disease in siblings

• Autor(a) principal: Nogueira, Alexandra Jóni
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Ribeiro, Maria Teresa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34632/cadernosdesaude.2018.5286

Introduction: The experience of going through a complex chronic disease process, in pediatric age, requiring palliative care, has a significative impact in family structure and dynamics. Research has focused on the understanding of the parental subsystem psychological adaptation, and not so much in siblings. However, the psychological experience of disease has implications in the well-being of healthy siblings and may be a precursor to internalizing and externalizing emotional perturbations. It’s essential to conduct studies that can result in a deeper understanding of this area of study, currently under development. Aim: In this way, this study aims to present a literature review about the psychological experience of the complex chronic disease in scholar-age siblings. Materials and Methods: A bibliographic search was carried out in the Scielo, EBSCO, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases, having been chosen 62 articles and books, national and international, between the years of 1979 and 2017, which corresponded to the dimensions to be studied. Results: Based on the results of national and international studies about this subject, specifically it explores: fraternal relationship; understanding of the disease; sick sibling representation; emotional impact of the disease; leisure time occupation and responsibilities; future perspectives; and psychological intervention. Conclusion: It is important to deeply understand the specificities of the disease’s adaptation process in healthy siblings, as well as their coping strategies, aiming to promote their resilience, well-being and post-traumatic growth.