Behavior changes exhibited by siblings of pediatric oncology patients: a comparison between maternal and sibling descriptions.

The purpose of this study was to identify the coping strategies used by the well siblings of pediatric oncology patients as identified by both the mother and the well siblings. The findings of this research study showed that both mothers and the well siblings were able to identify behavioral changes (95.2% of the mothers and 85.7% of the well siblings identified behavior changes). Behavior changes identified by both the siblings and mothers included being more sensitive to the needs of others, being more thoughtful, playing with friends, fighting, trouble sleeping, and complaints of headaches. Nurses can conduct thorough assessments of sibling behavior changes when a child family member has been diagnosed with cancer. From these assessments, nurses can provide care to assist the entire family during the ill child's treatment.