“Ne nnipadua mmpe” (the body hates it): Exploring the lived experience of food allergy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Atiim, George; Elliott, Susan J.; Clarke, Ann E.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.031

Cited by 7 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Qualitative studies on severe FA suggested that parents felt a need to have control of their child's everyday life and described a feeling of constantly being on guard. Insufficient knowledge of FA and anaphylaxis in preschool/school has been identified as a potential cause of anxiety . Some parents were worried their anxiety would affect the child.…”

Section: Results From the Selected Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Insufficient knowledge of FA and anaphylaxis in preschool/school has been identified as a potential cause of anxiety. [68][69][70] Some parents were worried their anxiety would affect the child. Parents were aware that as the child got older, they would have to learn how to let go, but extending safety zones was associated with much concern and anxiety.…”

Section: Anxiety In Parents and Caregiversmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anxiety and food allergy: A review of the last two decades

Polloni

Muraro

2020

Clin Experimental Allergy

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Food allergy (FA) is recognized as a growing public health burden affecting 5%‐10% of children worldwide. Several unique features specific to FA elicit high levels of emotional distress and anxiety in patients and caregivers, the first among all the possibility of a life‐threatening reaction. Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in patients with chronic disease, but remain undertreated despite significant negative consequences on patient health. This review aimed to offer a comprehensive overview of literature data on FA and anxiety of the last two decades. A review of the medical and psychological literature from the year 2000 (MEDLINE, PubMed and PsycINFO) was done using the keywords “anxiety” and “food allergy.” Clinical implications for disease management, various manifestations in different target groups, proper interventions and possible explanations on the nature of the association between FA and anxiety have been discussed, as well as limitations and further research directions. The relationship between FA and anxiety is attributed to FA‐specific fears and anxiety, rather than a general propensity towards anxiety. Some anxiety—short‐lived and related to key events–is to be expected and may even be helpful if it sustains allergen avoidance and preparedness to emergency. However, some data reported that increased anxiety did not improve adherence. Rather, high levels of anxiety have been demonstrated counterproductive and related to maladaptive coping. Further research is needed to elucidate the association between FA and anxiety, especially to understand biopsychosocial directions of the underlying mechanisms and to build proper, effective, standardized protocols of intervention. Clinicians must be aware of the association between FA and anxiety, understand their role in recognizing maladaptive anxiety and encouraging to seek psychological support when needed.

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Section: Results From the Selected Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Anxiety In Parents and Caregiversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety and food allergy: A review of the last two decades

Polloni

Muraro

2020

Clin Experimental Allergy

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“…Clinicians should inform patients on how to deal with their food allergies. Patients and their parents must be educated on FA in terms of natural history (which is related to the type of food allergen involved), management including prevention of accidental exposure, and rescue therapy in the event of adverse reaction 164 , 165 …”

Section: Management Issues With Respect To Local Circumstancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of managing food allergy in the developing world

Hossny

Ebisawa

El-Gamal

et al. 2019

World Allergy Organization Journal

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Food allergy (FA) is currently a significant health care problem in the developing world. Widely varying study populations and methodologies, the use of surrogate markers such as self report or hospitalization rates due to anaphylaxis rather than objective methods, limits robust estimation of FA prevalence in low income settings. Also, allergy is under-recognized as a clinical specialty in the developing world which compromises the chance for accurate diagnosis. In this review, most published data on food allergens from developing or low income countries are displayed. The diagnostic challenges and limitations of treatment options are discussed. It seems that FA is an under-appreciated health care issue in the developing world, and accurate determination of its burden in low-income settings represents an important unmet need. Multicenter surveillance studies, using standardized methodologies, are, therefore, needed to reveal the true extent of the problem and provide epidemiological clues for prevention. Preventive strategies should be tailored to fit local circumstances in different geographic regions. In addition, studying the gene environment interactions and impact of early life microbiota on the expression of FA in developing communities would be worthwhile. Efforts and resources should be directed toward public health education and training of health care providers dealing with food allergic patients.

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“…The perception and experience of risk have been shown to be inherently relational in food allergy experiences. 13,43,45,[47][48][49][50][51][53][54][55][56][58][59][60][61] For example, DeSoucey and Waggoner 48 have argued that there are several different food allergy 'risk frames' that collide in shared spaces. 52 These include different proximity to, and understanding of, risk exposure; different understandings and positioning in relation to 'responsible sociality', which they define as 'an ethic of discernible empathy for proximate others and of consideration of public benefit in social and communal settings' (p51) 48 ; and different ideas of what constitutes 'liberty', for example, having the freedom to fully participate in social life, or being able to act and eat in any way one pleases regardless of others.…”

Section: The Relationality Of Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…111 The anthropological and sociological research thus far has typically explored food allergy experiences and gender through the context of motherhood, with the focus being primarily on the higher burden on women resulting from gendered dynamics of household labour and childcare in different cultural contexts, 65,67,68,70,90 or on concerns about potential impact on their jobs. 45 Food allergy treatments, such as that of Palforzia and other OIT programmes, have also been shown to put a considerable (gendered) burden on mothers due to the time and skill needed to dose and monitor each day at home. 65,68 The gendered dynamics of advocacy work and living with food allergy and the ways in which care is political have also been discussed.…”

Section: Gender Mothering Advocacy and Emotionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropological and sociological perspectives on food allergy

Cook

2023

Clin Experimental Allergy

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This review explores the anthropological and sociological literature on food allergy and identifies four primary areas of research to date. The first explores the relationality and management of risk, uncertainty and stigma among parents and sufferers of food allergies. The second analyses the influence of intersectionality, specifically the effects of class, gender, race/ethnicity and disability on experiences of food allergy. The third discusses diagnostic difficulties and the impact these have on legitimacy and believability, both in the context of clinician–patient relations and in managing food allergies in public spaces. The fourth explores the ethics and uncertainties in food allergy treatments and how scientific knowledge of emerging treatments is constructed. This body of research illustrates that although an individual disease, food allergy experiences are significantly affected by socio‐cultural structures, institutions, ideologies and discourses. The review concludes with four primary recommendations. First, there should be more incorporation of anthropological or sociological methodologies and perspectives into studies of food allergy. Second, studies are needed from more countries exploring lived experience of food allergy. Third, research on food allergy needs to incorporate an analysis of intersectional factors such as gender, class and race/ethnicity, and should explore the experiences of minority populations. Fourth, more research is needed on the interactions between biomedicine and local systems of knowledge, as well as the factors that shape what treatments become available, for whom it becomes available, experiences of treatment and aspects (including biases) that influence patient–clinician interactions.

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“Ne nnipadua mmpe” (the body hates it): Exploring the lived experience of food allergy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 77 publications

Anxiety and food allergy: A review of the last two decades

Anxiety and food allergy: A review of the last two decades

Challenges of managing food allergy in the developing world

Anthropological and sociological perspectives on food allergy

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