Coping strategies of fathers and siblings of children with cancer: a literature review

Abstract

IntroductionsThe impact of paediatric cancer diagnosis on the family system is universally recognised, as well as the need for the family to find a new balance. Paediatric nurses, being promoters of the care of family and children diagnosed with cancer, need to deepen the experiences of siblings, fathers and mothers to offer better holistic child and family centred care. Although other literature reviews on this topic are present, none of these take into consideration the coping strategies of fathers and siblings in an aggregative way, as we do in this paper. The aim of this study is to look into the coping strategies of healthy siblings and fathers during the therapeutic process of a child with cancer.MethodsAn aggregative literature review was conducted through the consultation of some of the main electronic databases. Studies satisfying the following criteria were included: (a) primary studies conducted in the last 10 years, (b) published in English or Italian, (c) focusing on coping strategies adopted at diagnosis and during therapy by fathers and siblings of children with cancer.ResultsThe results were collected in three main categories looking at the problem from the parents’, the siblings’ and eventually the whole family’s points of view. The three categories have in common the expression of contrasting feelings by each member of the family that generates changes in roles and responsibilities.ConclusionsFurther studies are needed to better understand how nurses can lead a family centred care approach to improve the general familiar management and coping strategies.