Effects of interventions for siblings of children with physical and psychological chronic health conditions: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Research indicates that siblings of children with chronic health conditions (CHCs) are a vulnerable population that faces various challenges, and interventions have been developed to mitigate the potential for adverse outcomes. This systematic review evaluated the efficacy of interventions developed for siblings of children with CHCs across a wide spectrum of outcomes. METHOD: A systematic search of APA PsycInfo, PubMed, and Scopus was conducted in September 2023 to review the literature on interventions for siblings (birth to 18 years old) of children with physical or mental CHCs. Inclusion criteria consisted of online and in-person interventions, controlled and uncontrolled studies, and the assessment of at least one sibling outcome. The Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool was used to assess study bias. RESULTS: = 10) postintervention. There were no remarkable differences between interventions for siblings of children with physical, mental, or a combination of CHCs. DISCUSSION: The evidence largely indicates that interventions for siblings can be beneficial across a range of outcomes. Nonetheless, there were some inconsistencies in findings, which likely were an artifact of the variability in study designs, the diversity of interventions, and poor study methodologies. The findings highlight the need for well-designed intervention studies for their effective integration into clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).