Well siblings’ experiences of living with a child following a traumatic brain injury: a systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND: The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the available evidence identified through a systematic search on well siblings’ experiences of living with a child following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Brain injuries in children have been referred to as the “silent epidemic” of current times. Brain injuries in children are also recognized as a global public health concern, with the impact on children, effects on family life, and caregiving markedly misunderstood and underestimated. It is widely recognized that a serious brain injury impacts on the whole family, both immediate and extended regardless of the age of the individual who experiences the brain injury. While some research refers to parental experiences of children with TBIs and caregivers experiences, there is a dearth of literature relating to the impact on well siblings and their perspectives. Well siblings’ experiences regarding the impact of living with a child post-TBI are not well understood. In order to advance the delivery of family nursing care in the home, an understanding of the well siblings’ experiences is fundamental. METHODS: The search will be conducted using seven medical and healthcare databases for articles published up until February 2019. Two reviewers will independently screen the articles for inclusion and assess for study quality using the standardized critical appraisal instrument from the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-QARI). Two reviewers will extract data from each study and carry out data analysis to uncover themes within the literature. Data synthesis of findings will be carried out using JBI-QARI. DISCUSSION: It is anticipated that the findings of the proposed review will be of interest to health and social care professionals, particularly those working in units where children have suffered TBIs, their well siblings, and families. The aim is to identify well siblings’ experiences which can inform enhanced care delivery to the families of children following a TBI. The findings of this review will provide evidence to aid professionals with the assessment of siblings’ needs to enhance their sense of self within the family unit. Future directions, in addition to potential limitations of the approach, will be discussed. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018111036 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13643-019-1005-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.