Current Transition Care for Late Adolescents (18-25years) with Food Allergies, in North West England

Problem

The incidence of food allergies is becoming extremely prevalent amongst late adolescents (18-25). This period of adolescence is characterised as a challenging developmental stage, whereby individuals will undergo a period of transition from parental supervision to self-management of their food allergy. During this time, individuals will also be dependent on health care systems to provide the necessary support and guidance. Currently two transition guidelines exist in the UK (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline (NICE) and the Children and Young’s People Allergy Network Scotland (CYANS). Limited research is currently available investigating the current transition care for late adolescents with food allergies. Thus, the aim of this research is to explore the current health care access for late adolescents with food allergies.

Approach

A scoping review was conducted using keywords such as ‘young adults’, ‘late adolescents’, ‘food allergy’, ‘health care access’ and ‘transition care’, to determine the research objective.

Findings

Only one such study was identified. Khaleva et al. (2020), outline current transition care across Europe for young adults with food allergies and asthma. 86% of health care professionals reported a lack of transition guideline; 77% reported having no specific resources for adolescents; 76% had not received any training for this age group; only 4.2% reported using a readiness for transition questionnaire; most health care professionals never discussed self-harm, sexuality, depression and/or drug use.

Consequences

Adequate support is currently not available that targets the specific needs of late adolescents with food allergies, undergoing this critical period of transition. Little is known about the current transition care for UK health services for late adolescents with food allergies. Further research is therefore necessary to identify any existing gaps in knowledge and training of health care professionals. We will be using a mixed methods approach to explore the current health care access for late adolescents with food allergies in North West, England. Additionally, we will engage with health care professionals and late adolescents with food allergies for the development and implementation of interventions, to maximise quality of care distributed, allowing for successful self-management of food allergies.