ABSTRACT

This study explored factors that influence the accuracy of caregivers’ appraisals of the foods their children with food allergy should avoid. Seventy-two caregivers of children with food allergy completed measures of caregiver educational attainment, food allergy knowledge, food allergy worry, and a questionnaire assessing whether or not their child should avoid specific foods (the Foods to Avoid Test). Unnecessary avoidance was indicated when a caregiver reported their child should avoid a food item, even though that item was safe for their child based on their food allergy (i.e., false positive). Lack of appropriate avoidance was represented by caregivers reporting a food did not need to be avoided when it should be avoided based on the child’s food allergy (i.e., false negative). Caregivers with lower educational attainment and less food allergy knowledge and whose children were more recently diagnosed had more false-negative appraisal errors. In contrast, false-positive appraisal errors were most strongly related to parental worry about food allergy. The findings suggest that screening for food allergy general knowledge and food avoidance appraisals may help identify gaps in caregivers’ knowledge and ultimately prevent accidental exposures and/or unnecessary avoidance.

摘要

这项研究探讨了影响照顾者对食物过敏的孩子应避免的食物评估准确性的因素。72名食物过敏儿童的看护人完成了对看护者的教育程度，食物过敏知识，食物过敏担忧的评估，以及一份评估其孩子是否应避免使用特定食物的问卷（“避免食物测试”）。当照顾者报告他们的孩子应避免食用某种食物时，表明有不必要的回避，即使该食物因其食物过敏（即假阳性）而对其孩子而言是安全的。照护者表示缺乏适当的回避，他们报告说，根据儿童的食物过敏（如假阴性），应避免食用某种食物。受教育程度较低，食物过敏知识较少且最近被诊断为孩子的看护人的假阴性评估错误更多。相反，假阳性评估错误与父母对食物过敏的担忧最密切相关。研究结果表明，筛查食物过敏的常识和避免食物的评估可能有助于发现看护者知识上的空白，并最终防止意外接触和/或不必要的避免。