A Global Survey of Mental Health Treatment Experiences among Food Allergy Patients and Caregivers

Authors

• Linda Jones Herbert, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC; George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC. Electronic address: lherbert@childrensnational.org.
• Rebecca C. Knibb, Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
• Jennifer Lp Protudjer, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Christina J. Jones, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, UK.
• Mary Jane Marchisotto, MJM Advisory, New York, USA; EAACI Patients Organisation Committee.
• Helen A. Brough, Children's Allergy Service, Evelina Children's Hospital, Guy's and St. Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, Westminster Bridge Rd, London, UK; Department Women and Children's Health (Pediatric Allergy), School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK; Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
• Christopher Warren, Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, US.
• Cassandra Screti, Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
• Melissa L. Engel, Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, US; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, US.
• Sean Park, Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, US.
• Alexandra F. Santos, Children's Allergy Service, Evelina Children's Hospital, Guy's and St. Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, Westminster Bridge Rd, London, UK; Department Women and Children's Health (Pediatric Allergy), School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK; Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
• Ruchi Gupta, Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, US; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, US; Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, US.
• Brian P. Vickery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, US; Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, US.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

5-14-2025

Journal

The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice

DOI

10.1016/j.jaip.2025.05.015

Keywords

adult; caregiver; children; food allergy; healthcare access; mental health

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Barriers to mental health treatment have been identified among individuals managing food allergy (FA), yet little is known about their experiences accessing this care. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the mental health treatment experiences of caregivers and adults with FA within the Global Access to Psychological Services for FA Study. METHODS: Caregivers of children with FA and adults with FA from >20 countries completed online surveys about experiences with FA-related mental health treatment. RESULTS: Overall, 21.6% (411/1907) of caregivers and 22.8% (304/1329) of adults reported receiving FA-related mental health treatment. Most of those participants (96.2%) lived in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Cognitive behavioral therapy was the most common treatment reported by caregivers (30.1%) and adults (33.2%). Most caregivers and adults were at least somewhat satisfied with their experience (75.9% and 72.4%, respectively) and perceived that mental health providers were at least somewhat FA knowledgeable (62.5% and 60.06%, respectively), although caregiver and adult perceptions of knowledge significantly varied by country with lowest percentages in Australia (31.8% and 33.4%, respectively) and highest in Portugal (96.0% and 90.9%, respectively), p<.01. Most caregivers (72.1%) and adults (75.0%) reported mental health providers were at least somewhat helpful at addressing FA concerns, albeit again with significant international differences, p<.01. CONCLUSIONS: Most caregivers and adults reported satisfaction with FA-related mental health treatment and believed providers were somewhat FA knowledgeable. However, inter-country attitudes about FA-related mental health treatment experiences were noted.

APA Citation

Herbert, Linda Jones; Knibb, Rebecca C.; Protudjer, Jennifer Lp; Jones, Christina J.; Marchisotto, Mary Jane; Brough, Helen A.; Warren, Christopher; Screti, Cassandra; Engel, Melissa L.; Park, Sean; Santos, Alexandra F.; Gupta, Ruchi; and Vickery, Brian P., "A Global Survey of Mental Health Treatment Experiences among Food Allergy Patients and Caregivers" (2025). GW Authored Works. Paper 7259.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/7259

Department

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences