Parents, Grandparents and Siblings: A Pilot Psychological Intervention Study in Pediatric Palliative Care

Portugal has approximately 8,000 children with life-limiting conditions. A need to psychological support has been identified, so an innovative online intervention study for families was developed. The aim is to explore potential effects of three intervention programs on the psychological experience of parents, grandparents and siblings respectively. The pilot study has a quasi-experimental, before-after study design with a mixed methods approach. Family members were allocated, not-randomly, to a comparison group or an experimental group. 12 parents, 6 grandparents and 6 siblings were included in this study. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were used pre- and post-intervention. For parents, significant improvements were found in the Coping Health scores. The anxiety also decreased, and all participants described a more positive perspective towards the illness, hope and more skills development. The grandparents reduced their anxiety, stress and depression in a clinically relevant way. In the qualitative feedback, grandparents began to recognize their resilience and joy. Pilot results also indicate positive responses from siblings, related to perception of normality in family context, and a lower trait anxiety. Despite the positive outcomes, the small sample size needs to be considered. Further studies would be required to confirm these findings.