Evaluation of In-Person, Gluten-Free Diet Education for Children With Celiac Disease

Abstract

The only treatment for celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD), and the best way to achieve adherence is through education from a registered dietitian who has expertise in celiac disease. Education practices on the GFD vary across the world and are not well studied. For over 10 years, our institution has conducted in-person small group education sessions for 1–3 patients and their families. These classes are dietitian led, didactic, and discussion based. Pre- and postsurveys done for the past 5 years showed that families’ knowledge of celiac disease increased significantly and 96% of patients age 8 and above benefited from attendance. These data show that in-person, small group classes are effective for families and patients over 7 years of age. Additional study is needed to compare various models of delivering education on the GFD (especially telemedicine options), their efficacy, and barriers to delivery.

Gluten-Free Diet Knowledge and Adherence in Adolescents with Celiac Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Interestingly, although dieticians lead the GFD teaching classes at the study clinics, dieticians were only classified as helpful by 57% of the adolescents surveyed. A recent North American study found that in-person small-group GFD teaching sessions led by dieticians successfully increased GFD and CD knowledge in children over 8 years old based on parent reports ( 24 ), highlighting an opportunity for ongoing research and improvement at the study clinics. Aside from Google, adolescents did not report using online resources such as apps (including social media outlets) as a GFD information source, which is surprising given their overall reliance on the Internet.…”