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. 2017 Jul 20;18(1):38.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4594-z.

Parents' and caregivers' experiences and behaviours when eating out with children with a food hypersensitivity

Fiona M Begen  1 , Julie Barnett  2 , Miriam Barber  2 , Ros Payne  3 , M Hazel Gowland  4 , Jane S Lucas  5
Affiliations

Parents' and caregivers' experiences and behaviours when eating out with children with a food hypersensitivity

Fiona M Begen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Erratum in

  • Erratum to: BMC Public Health, Vol. 18.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] BMC Public Health. 2017 Sep 22;17(1):736. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4709-6. BMC Public Health. 2017. PMID: 28938882 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: For parents and caregivers of food hypersensitive (FH) children, accommodating their child's dietary needs when eating out can be a challenging experience. This study explored caregivers' experiences and behaviours when eating out with their FH child in order to gain insights into how they support and prepare their child in negotiating safe eating out experiences.

Methods: A cross-sectional, qualitative design was used. In depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 caregivers of children with FH. Interviews were analysed using framework analysis.

Results: Caregivers reported a number of issues relating to eating out with their FH child, or allowing their child to eat out without their supervision. Through themes of 'family context', 'child-focused concerns', and 'venue issues', caregivers described how they managed these and explained the limitations and sacrifices that FH imposed on their child, themselves, and family members.

Conclusions: Through deeper understanding of the anxieties, negotiations and compromises experienced by caregivers of children with FH when they are eating out, clinicians and support charities can tailor their support to meet the needs of caregivers and children. Support and education provision should focus on providing caregivers of children with FH the tools and strategies to help enable safe eating out experiences.

Keywords: Allergen avoidance; Children; Eating out; Food allergy; Food hypersensitivity; Food intolerance; Parents.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval was gained from the University of Bath, Department of Psychology Ethics Committee (Ethical Approval Ref: 14–055). All participants were fully briefed about the nature of the study and their rights as participants before providing written informed consent prior to interview.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

FMB, JB, MB, MHG & JSL declare no competing interests.

RP is director of Creative Research, a research consultancy funded by the ‘Food Standards Agency –UK (FSA)’ through subcontract to collect the interview data. The specific roles of this author are articulated in the ‘authors’ contributions’ section.

Acumen Fieldwork-Medical were funded by the ‘Food Standards Agency –UK (FSA)’ through subcontract to recruit participants for the study. They did not play any role in the study design, the conduct of the interviews and the analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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