Abstract
Aim:
To describe how siblings are affected by having a brother or sister with diabetes from a parental perspective.
Background:
During the past twenty years, type-1 diabetes has increased among children. When a child falls ill, the whole family is affected. Family life is centered around the ill child. Subjected to many restrictions, the family feels unsatisfied and that life is not what it should be.
Methods:
The study has a qualitative approach, and consists of an inductive analysis of unstructured questionnaires. Family centered care was used as a theoretical frame.
Findings:
Siblings are affected by having a brother or sister with diabetes through decreased attention, participation in the child's diabetes, changes in family routines and feelings of anxiety in connection with the child's diabetes.
Conclusions:
The study shows parents' experiences that siblings respond on a sibling with diabetes. Through knowledge of how siblings respond the nurse has the potential to acknowledge the siblings by paying attention to them, giving time, give them adequate information and confirm that they have an obvious place in the department.