Parents Experiences Raising a Child with Food Allergy; A Qualitative Review

Abstract

Problem: Food allergies are one of the fastest growing public health concerns without a cure, affecting approximately 8% of the world's child population. Being the parent of a child with allergies may lead to concerns, and affect everyday life in the family. The aim was to synthesize and describe parents' experiences of living with food allergies in families when one of the children has a food allergy. Eligibility criteria: A systematic search using subject terms and text words was performed in Cinahl (Ebsco), Swemed+, Medline (OVID) and Scopus in October 2017. The search was limited to parents with children and adolescents, for the years from 2006 to October 2017. Sample: One hundred and forty articles were screened and 24 were included. Results: A meta-summery of the results from the included studies were conducted. The parents lived in fear, after their child had their first reaction and had become allergic, a life threatening experience. They tried to live an ordinary family life and parents had to learn how to be one-step ahead and understand early signs. The family's social life was also influenced. Parents asked for support and information from health professionals and more knowledge and skills increased parents' manageability. Conclusion: Parents need support and a seamless encounter with health professionals, with multidisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing to develop the parents' self-efficacy. Implications: Health professionals must provide information and support parents on their path through the health-care system in having a child with a food allergy.

APPEAL‐2: A pan‐European qualitative study to explore the burden of peanut‐allergic children, teenagers and their caregivers

“…Although many of the main concepts described here have been reported previously in food allergy studies, it is important that these are confirmed specifically for PA 21,22 . Previous qualitative research documented caregivers’ fear and hesitation related to AAI use, 21 which was also reported by teenagers and caregivers in the current study.…”

“…These include the burden of meal preparation, ensuring the home is nut-free, 9 and difficulties with teenagers' transitions to independence and the diminishment of caregiver control. 10,21 Although many of the main concepts described here have been reported previously in food allergy studies, it is important that these are confirmed specifically for PA. 21,22 Previous qualitative research documented caregivers' fear and hesitation related to AAI use, 21 which was also reported by teenagers and caregivers in the current study. A large qualitative study of food allergy The absence of such a link may be due to a reduction in uncertainty when a reaction is experienced and is successfully managed, 23 or to other moderators, such as levels of social support and awareness.…”

CSACI guidelines for the ethical, evidence-based and patient-oriented clinical practice of oral immunotherapy in IgE-mediated food allergy

“…• Fear of accidental exposure: uncertainty, anxiety and distress in parents, children [1][2][3] and adolescents. 4 5 Survey: more than 50% of 853 US parents of children with peanut allergy reported to be always afraid of exposure.…”

“…The current standard management for food allergy is complete avoidance of the offending allergen in the diet, combined with training on how to recognize and treat allergic reactions. And while avoidance is currently recognized as a safe approach, it has a limited ability to improve a patients' perception of safety or sense of control over the condition and its associated limitations-this leads many to seek alternative management options [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) consists of daily ingestion of the offending food allergen (food dosing), starting below a patient's threshold dose (i.e.…”

Correlation between nutritional status and children's activity with food allergy: A cross-sectional study

“…This can also affect daily family activities in children with food allergies, as in our study, where the age of the child affects daily family activities, especially due to increasing age, such as teenagers with food allergies. They have a lower and narrower risk perception, and they seem to care less about their condition that one day can cause an allergic reaction due to the consumption of food freely [ 32 , 33 ]. The desire to be independent causes teenagers to take risks even though they realize the consequences and they are annoyed with parents who often worry and control their lives [ 33 , 34 ].…”