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

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Barriers to mental health treatment have been identified among individuals managing food allergy (FA), yet little is known about their experiences accessing this care. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the mental health treatment experiences of caregivers and adults with FA within the Global Access to Psychological Services for FA Study. METHODS: Caregivers of children with FA and adults with FA from >20 countries completed online surveys about experiences with FA-related mental health treatment. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.