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

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 of 1907) of caregivers and 22.8% (304 of 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 that 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 that providers were somewhat FA knowledgeable. However, intercountry attitudes about FA-related mental health treatment experiences were noted.