Interventions to Promote Food Allergy Literacy in Childhood: A Systematic Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: This article introduces the concept, food allergy literacy (FAL), which encompasses the knowledge, behaviors, and skills needed to manage a food allergy and is thus critical to child safety. Yet, there is limited clarity on how to promote FAL in children.

Methods: Twelve academic databases were systematically searched to identify publications on interventions to promote FAL in children. Five publications met the inclusion criteria, which involved children (3 to 12 years), their parents, or educators and tested the efficacy of an intervention.

Findings: Four interventions were for parents and educators, while 1 intervention was for parents with their children. The interventions were educational and focused on promoting participant knowledge and skills of food allergy, and/or psychosocial in nature, promoting coping, confidence, and self-efficacy in managing children's allergies. All interventions were deemed effective. Only 1 study used a control group, and none assessed the long-term benefits of the interventions.

Implications for school policy, practice, and equity: The results can enable health service providers and educators to design evidence-based interventions to promote FAL. This might involve designing, implementing, and evaluating curricula and play-based activities, therein, that award greater attention to food allergy-its consequences, risks, skills to prevent risk, and managing food allergy in educational settings.

Conclusions: There is limited evidence on child-focused interventions that promote FAL. There is, therefore, considerable opportunity to co-design and test interventions with children.

Keywords: anaphylaxis; early childhood; food allergy; food allergy management; health interventions; health literacy; school health program planning; school safety; scoping review; systematic.