American Journal of Pediatrics

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Sickle Cell Anemia and Family Taboo: The Experience of a Sister of a Sick Child in Cameroon

Received: Apr. 10, 2020    Accepted: Apr. 26, 2020    Published: May 15, 2020
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Abstract

Sickle cell anemia is the most prevalent genetic disease in the world that is seen as a taboo in African communities where single-child families are rare. However, speaking with a family about a pathology or a disability reduces the harmful effects in the sick child as well as on the members of his family. This research aims to understand the psychological impact of family taboo on sickle cell anemia on a sister of a sick child in Cameroon. This knowledge will enable professionals to further improve support for sick children by taking into account their family and siblings and making them a resource for both the sick child and their siblings. We met a 17-year-old girl without sickle cell anemia who is the second child of a family composed of seven children including five girls and two boys. She is the older sister of the only sick child in the 13-year-old siblings. The meeting took place in Cameroon at the home of her parents who allowed her to participate in the research by signing a consent form. We collected data through an interview about the illness, her relationship with her sick sister and with her family members. Following the interview, we invited her to make a drawing of her family. We analyzed the interview according to the thematic approach. The interview and drawing of the family were two complementary tools to better understand the experience of this girl. The family taboo about the illness causes the girl to feel strange about her sick sister and her illness. It makes her powerless in the face of crises of her sister. This helplessness arouses her feelings of guilt and to have aggressive behavior against her sick sister she thought to be a passive victim of the disease and a child to be protected. The mother's order concerning the protection of the sick child by her siblings gives the girl a feeling of abandonment and non-recognition of her experience as a sister of the sick child by her parents in general and by her mother in particular. This article shows the need to remain extremely sensitive to how the experience of the disease fits into the family dynamics in order to transform it and to make family and siblings a resource for the sick child and for his siblings.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14
Published in American Journal of Pediatrics ( Volume 6, Issue 3, September 2020 )
Page(s) 190-198
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sickle Cell Anemia, Culture, Taboo, Siblings, Cameroon

References
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  • APA Style

    Hassan Njifon Nsangou, Regine Scelles. (2020). Sickle Cell Anemia and Family Taboo: The Experience of a Sister of a Sick Child in Cameroon. American Journal of Pediatrics, 6(3), 190-198. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14

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    ACS Style

    Hassan Njifon Nsangou; Regine Scelles. Sickle Cell Anemia and Family Taboo: The Experience of a Sister of a Sick Child in Cameroon. Am. J. Pediatr. 2020, 6(3), 190-198. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14

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    AMA Style

    Hassan Njifon Nsangou, Regine Scelles. Sickle Cell Anemia and Family Taboo: The Experience of a Sister of a Sick Child in Cameroon. Am J Pediatr. 2020;6(3):190-198. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14,
      author = {Hassan Njifon Nsangou and Regine Scelles},
      title = {Sickle Cell Anemia and Family Taboo: The Experience of a Sister of a Sick Child in Cameroon},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {190-198},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20200603.14},
      abstract = {Sickle cell anemia is the most prevalent genetic disease in the world that is seen as a taboo in African communities where single-child families are rare. However, speaking with a family about a pathology or a disability reduces the harmful effects in the sick child as well as on the members of his family. This research aims to understand the psychological impact of family taboo on sickle cell anemia on a sister of a sick child in Cameroon. This knowledge will enable professionals to further improve support for sick children by taking into account their family and siblings and making them a resource for both the sick child and their siblings. We met a 17-year-old girl without sickle cell anemia who is the second child of a family composed of seven children including five girls and two boys. She is the older sister of the only sick child in the 13-year-old siblings. The meeting took place in Cameroon at the home of her parents who allowed her to participate in the research by signing a consent form. We collected data through an interview about the illness, her relationship with her sick sister and with her family members. Following the interview, we invited her to make a drawing of her family. We analyzed the interview according to the thematic approach. The interview and drawing of the family were two complementary tools to better understand the experience of this girl. The family taboo about the illness causes the girl to feel strange about her sick sister and her illness. It makes her powerless in the face of crises of her sister. This helplessness arouses her feelings of guilt and to have aggressive behavior against her sick sister she thought to be a passive victim of the disease and a child to be protected. The mother's order concerning the protection of the sick child by her siblings gives the girl a feeling of abandonment and non-recognition of her experience as a sister of the sick child by her parents in general and by her mother in particular. This article shows the need to remain extremely sensitive to how the experience of the disease fits into the family dynamics in order to transform it and to make family and siblings a resource for the sick child and for his siblings.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Sickle Cell Anemia and Family Taboo: The Experience of a Sister of a Sick Child in Cameroon
    AU  - Hassan Njifon Nsangou
    AU  - Regine Scelles
    Y1  - 2020/05/15
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    SP  - 190
    EP  - 198
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20200603.14
    AB  - Sickle cell anemia is the most prevalent genetic disease in the world that is seen as a taboo in African communities where single-child families are rare. However, speaking with a family about a pathology or a disability reduces the harmful effects in the sick child as well as on the members of his family. This research aims to understand the psychological impact of family taboo on sickle cell anemia on a sister of a sick child in Cameroon. This knowledge will enable professionals to further improve support for sick children by taking into account their family and siblings and making them a resource for both the sick child and their siblings. We met a 17-year-old girl without sickle cell anemia who is the second child of a family composed of seven children including five girls and two boys. She is the older sister of the only sick child in the 13-year-old siblings. The meeting took place in Cameroon at the home of her parents who allowed her to participate in the research by signing a consent form. We collected data through an interview about the illness, her relationship with her sick sister and with her family members. Following the interview, we invited her to make a drawing of her family. We analyzed the interview according to the thematic approach. The interview and drawing of the family were two complementary tools to better understand the experience of this girl. The family taboo about the illness causes the girl to feel strange about her sick sister and her illness. It makes her powerless in the face of crises of her sister. This helplessness arouses her feelings of guilt and to have aggressive behavior against her sick sister she thought to be a passive victim of the disease and a child to be protected. The mother's order concerning the protection of the sick child by her siblings gives the girl a feeling of abandonment and non-recognition of her experience as a sister of the sick child by her parents in general and by her mother in particular. This article shows the need to remain extremely sensitive to how the experience of the disease fits into the family dynamics in order to transform it and to make family and siblings a resource for the sick child and for his siblings.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Philosophy-Psychology-Sociology, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon; Clipsyd Research Group, University of Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France

  • Clipsyd Research Group, University of Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France

  • Section