Food allergy affects over 3 million Canadians, including almost 500,000 children. Researchers are committed to better understanding how to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually, cure this medical condition. Learn how you can participate in research studies.
Participate in research
Participate in a survey if your child has received virtual care during COVID-19
A Canadian study led by researchers at the University of Manitoba aims to understand families’ perceptions of virtual allergy care during COVID-19. Through this study, the comfort level of parents with virtual allergy care including follow up appointments, early introduction of foods, oral food challenges and oral immunotherapy, will be assessed.
Who can participate
If you are the parent or caregiver of a child with food allergy who has received virtual allergy care during the pandemic, you are invited to participate in this study. You’ll be asked to take an online survey, which will take 15-20 minutes to complete.
Your participation in the study is important for providing meaningful insights on the experiences with virtual allergy care and will help inform how virtual care can be improved. With less than 1 allergist per 100k population in Canada, Canadians struggle to get timely access to an allergist and face long wait times, at times even having to travel out-of-province.
This means there are challenges in accessing allergy care and securing an accurate diagnosis that is even more pronounced for Indigenous, rural, and northern communities. This also means limited treatment options for some of the emerging therapies.
As the federal government has recognized, the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a new way of accessing healthcare. In our 2021 budget submission with the National Food Allergy Action Plan, one area of focus is on a strategy to stratify virtual access to food allergy care to ensure proper diagnoses and future treatment options are accessible to all. Help us #MakeFoodAllergyCount and ask your MP to support our budget submission.
Participate in a survey on the psychological health needs of living with food allergy and access to care
An international study, by researchers in Europe, Canada and the U.S., is looking at the psychological health needs, including stress, worry, anxiety and depression, related to living with food allergy, and access to care.
If you have a food allergy or are a parent of a child with food allergy, you are invited to participate in this study. You’ll be asked to take an online survey, which will take 20-30 minutes to complete.
Ways to participate
Adults with food allergyTo be eligible, you must:
– Be 18 years of age or over
– Have a food allergy diagnosed by a medical doctor
To be eligible, you must:
– Be 12-17 years of age
– Have a food allergy diagnosed by a medical doctor
Parents/ caregiversTo be eligible, you must:
– You are parent/caregiver of a child with food allergy
– Your child’s food allergy has been diagnosed by a medical doctor
Your participation in this study is vital to providing the researchers with insights on the psychological health care needs of patients with food allergy and their families, and the services being offered. It will also help patient organizations like ours advocate for greater mental health supports.