Medscape: Adolescents With Food Allergy Share Similar Beliefs
By Lorraine L. Janeczko
Adolescents with food allergies tend to share five areas of belief and concern related to how they manage their condition, according to a systematic review from the United Kingdom.
"Themes included navigating food allergy in different environments, carriage and use of adrenaline auto‐injectors, management of the risk of anaphylaxis, behavior and understanding of others, and food‐allergic identity," the authors write in Clinical and Translational Allergy.
"Adolescents with food allergy hold a variety of condition beliefs; some beliefs were related to behavior that could lead to an allergic reaction, while other beliefs were related to protective behaviors," they add. Other research suggests adolescents have the highest risk of fatal allergic reactions to food, they note.
Jodi A. Shroba, MSN, RN, CPNP, the coordinator for the Food Allergy Program at Children's Mercy Kansas City, Missouri, welcomed the study's findings.
"The paper does a nice job of collecting common themes regarding food allergies and adolescents and of discussing many common concerns, practices, and beliefs of adolescents with food allergy," she told Medscape Medical News in an email.
"As healthcare providers, it is important that we discuss these themes with our patients," Shroba advised. "Providers should discuss school and any concerns adolescents may have about their safety at school, and they should work with their patients' families to make safety plans for school.
Read the full article via Medscape