Abstract
Barriers to mental health treatment have been identified among individuals managing food allergy (FA), yet little is known about their experiences accessing this care.
We assessed the mental health treatment experiences of caregivers and adults with FA within the Global Access to Psychological Services for FA Study.
Caregivers of children with FA and adults with FA from >20 countries completed online surveys about experiences with FA-related mental health treatment.
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.
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.
•What is already known about this topic? Many patients with food allergies and caregivers across the world report psychological distress related to food allergy management and a desire for psychological support.•What does this article add to our knowledge? This article provides an overview of the food allergy-related mental health treatment experiences of a global sample of adults with food allergies and caregivers, including how/from whom they sought treatment and their satisfaction with treatment.•How does this study impact current management guidelines? Results indicate that allergy and mental health providers need to continue to strengthen their partnerships to support patients and families in food allergy management and develop accessible evidence-based mental health treatments for food allergy.