Abstract
Background: This paper reports the findings from an interview study conducted with people who had attended a specialist food intolerance clinic running in four general practices in the UK. The aims of the interviews were to investigate the experiential accounts and meaning-making of people who had reported symptom improvement whilst attending the clinic. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants following clinic attendance. Interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings: Analyses revealed five key themes: ‘reported expectations of clinic intervention’, ‘reported symptom changes’, ‘reported implications of symptom change for personal social and emotional life’, ‘accounts of processes of change’ and ‘adherence and non-adherence to dietary regime’. Discussion: Participants reported attending the food intolerance clinic to search for an explanation for the cause of their symptoms. The clinic seemed to work by helping participants to identify food related culprits thus bringing into line their beliefs about causes and solutions to their problem.