Food allergy affects over 2.6 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
Survey: A study that will help to measure quality of life
Participate in a new study that aims to understand your health preferences and how food allergy affects your quality of life. This study is a collaborative initiative with CHU Sainte-Justine’s in Montreal and Food Allergy Canada, and is sponsored by a Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation research grant. It is led by Dr. Philippe Bégin, allergist at CHU Sainte-Justine.
If you have a food allergy or are a parent of a child with food allergy, you’re invited to participate in this important study. You will be asked to complete an online survey, available in English and French, that should take approximately 40 minutes to complete. This survey is lengthy because it includes detailed questions on your general health preferences, which are needed to establish quality of life indicators for the food allergy population. These measurements have never been calculated before.
Your participation in the study is vital to providing the researchers, and patient organizations like ours, with insightful results on how the quality of your life can be greatly improved.
These results will help to inform our advocacy efforts with government and other key stakeholders to drive positive change, such as:
- Increase access to drug coverage (e.g., ensuring everyone has access to epinephrine)
- Improve clinical resources (e.g., increased access to allergists, proper diagnosis, treatments, and more)
- Secure public investments (e.g., additional government funding for this medical condition)
Participate now
Your participation is crucial to providing the researchers with meaningful results. Please take the time to complete the survey. Note: the survey will not work on mobile phones.
Contact details
For any questions or comments on this research, please contact the research team at 514-345-4931, extension 4201 or at info.allergie.hsj@ssss.gouv.qc.ca. For any questions regarding your rights as a participant in this research project or if you have any complaints or general comments, please contact the CHU Sainte-Justine ombudsman at 514-345-4749.
Call for participation: Provide your feedback on oral immunotherapy guidelines
The Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) is developing clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of food allergy with oral immunotherapy (OIT) and needs your input.
OIT involves the regular ingestion of measured and increasing quantities of the allergy-causing food in order to progressively increase the patient’s tolerance, which, in time, may reduce the risk of allergic reactions. The guidelines will provide guidance for the safe, effective and efficient provision of OIT to patients allergic to eggs, peanuts, milk, wheat, soy, tree nuts, or other foods.
How to participate
If you are a parent/guardian of a child with food allergy, or have a food allergy yourself, you are invited to complete a 5-minute questionnaire. The questionnaire is available in English and French and is intended for anyone who is considering or undergoing OIT, or has completed treatment.
The consultation team will review the questionnaire data and select individuals to be interviewed about OIT. Not everyone who completes the questionnaire will be contacted for an interview. The interviews are part of the consultation process and will provide the team with a better understanding of the experiences and perspectives of patients and families, which will help inform the new OIT guidelines.
This project is managed by a CSACI-appointed executive committee with the methodological support of Quebec’s National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services as well as the Health Technology Assessment unit of Montreal’s Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre.
To learn more and to take the questionnaire, visit csaci.ca. You will find the information directly on the home page. Deadline for participation is Friday, June 28, 2019.
Emerging Allergen Reporting Tool
If your child has had a reaction in the last 12 months to a food other than a priority allergen, participate in an important research survey. Your participation will help researchers, and advocacy groups like ours, better understand emerging allergens.