D3.392 - What information and education is crucial for people with food allergies?

Food allergies are becoming increasingly common around the world, and different international allergy guidelines recommend that food allergy education should be provided to food allergy patients and their families to prevent serious adverse reactions or unnecessary hospitalisations. However, no published papers provide information on the basic content of food allergy education programs. This study aimed to investigate common weaknesses in managing food allergy among patients with food allergy or their parents to establish a food allergy education program.

We recruited participants with suspected food allergy or parents of children with food allergy. They had to provide demographic data and complete our validated Food Allergy Knowledge and Food Allergy Management Confidence Questionnaires. The Food Allergy Knowledge Questionnaire consisted of 12 true-false questions and 8 multiple-choice questions, while the Food Allergy Management Confidence Questionnaire consisted of 10 items scored from 0 to 4, representing low to high confidence in management.

A total of 155 participants were recruited with a mean age of 30.7±11.1 years (range, 12–57 years), of which 76 (49.0%) were adult patients and the remaining 79 (51.0%) were parents of children with food allergies. The majority of participants were female (69.7%), and more than 60% had completed university education. When summarising the results of the food allergy knowledge questionnaire, more than 100 participants answered incorrectly on questions asking about the use of an adrenaline auto-injector, triggers of food allergies, how to introduce foods to babies with food allergies, and signs and symptoms of food allergies. Regarding the level of confidence in handling food allergies, more than 70% of participants lacked confidence in using an adrenaline auto-injector.

People with food allergies or their parents should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of food allergies and be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis in order to use an adrenaline auto-injector. Besides, they should have basic knowledge of food allergies, including food allergy triggers and the technique of using an adrenaline auto-injector. Practical return demonstrations are also crucial to reinforce their injection technique and increase their confidence in food allergy management.