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Examining differences in parent knowledge about pediatric food allergies

Luke, Anna K.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555324911098815

Abstract Details

2019, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
Pediatric food allergy (FA) is a serious health condition that has become increasingly prevalent, as have rates of FAs self-diagnosed by parents and not medical professionals. Parents often play a primary role in assessing and managing risk for their child’s FAs. As such, it is increasingly important for parents to possess knowledge about the most recent guidelines for FA management. This study aimed to examine the frequency of medical vs. parent reported diagnoses source as well as investigate levels of FA knowledge among parents using a comprehensive measure. The Food Allergy Knowledge Test (FAKT) was administered to parents (N=518) of children aged 3-17 years with (n= 349) and without (n=169) FAs using internet sampling. These FA and Control groups were partitioned into four subgroups: FA group parents of children diagnosed by an allergist (n=77) or a pediatrician (n=209), and Control group parents who did (n=106) or did not (n=63) endorse knowing someone with a FA. Findings were analyzed to provide composite knowledge scores and examine the effects of participant groups and predictor variables on FAKT scores. There were significant group differences on the overall FAKT score as well as on four FAKT subscales: Avoiding Exposure, EpiPen Knowledge, Symptoms, and Anaphylaxis. Exploratory analyses found parent age, gender, time since diagnosis, emergency action plan possession, and parental anxiety to be significant predictors of total FAKT score among participants in the FA group. Knowledge of FA was poor across all groups. Education for both caregivers with and without food allergic children is important to ensure FA safety in multiple settings. Future directions and limitations are discussed.
Christopher Flessner (Advisor)
Amy Sato (Committee Member)
Manfred van Dulmen (Committee Member)
Joel Hughes (Committee Member)
39 p.
Psychology
pediatric food allergies; parent knowledge; internet survey

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Luke, A. K. (2019). Examining differences in parent knowledge about pediatric food allergies [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555324911098815

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Luke, Anna. Examining differences in parent knowledge about pediatric food allergies . 2019. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555324911098815.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Luke, Anna. "Examining differences in parent knowledge about pediatric food allergies ." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555324911098815

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1555324911098815
571
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.