A qualitative study to inform development of a behavioral intervention to promote food allergy self-management and adjustment among early adolescents.

The Development of Age-Based Food Allergy Educational Handouts for Caregivers and Patients: A Work Group Report of the AAAAI Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee

“…Adolescents benefit from continued caregiver support, particularly around the planning, problem-solving, and decision-making required for effective food allergy management. 30 As adolescents spend more time outside of direct adult supervision, there is greater concern for risk-taking behaviors (eg, eating foods with precautionary labeling, not reading food labels or asking about ingredients, not carrying their epinephrine autoinjector), particularly in social situations due to concerns about fitting in, feeling embarrassed, or being teased due to food allergies. [31][32][33][34][35] Barriers to epinephrine carriage and use among teens may also include issues of convenience/size of the device, attitudes of others, beliefs about risk of allergic reaction (eg, low risk for a reaction requiring emergency treatment it they do not plan on eating), and uncertainty about symptoms of anaphylaxis and how and when to use the autoinjector.…”