Allergists encouraged to discuss online information about food allergies with parents
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Allergists can guide parents of children with food allergies through the information they find online, according to a presentation at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.
“We know that many parents and people in general use social media across the world,” David R. Stukus, MD, FACAAI, professor of clinical pediatrics and director of the Food Allergy Treatment Center in the division of allergy and immunology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said during his presentation.
“Unfortunately, the information that they encounter on social media may be incorrect or inaccurate, and we also know that it has been established that social media and online information can influence medical decision-making,” Stukus continued.
The researchers then aimed to characterize the way that parents of children with food allergies used online resources and social media to find information related to their child’s health care.
The anonymous survey involved 145 parents of children with food allergy who presented for care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital or Texas Children’s Hospital.
These parents said they went online to find information about food allergies because it was convenient (80%), information was easy to find (77%), quick answers were available (75%), there was a large amount of information (59%) and it was trustworthy (29%).
Also, 45% of the respondents said they never trust information they find on social media, 41% said they trust it occasionally and 15% said they trust it always or often.
“It seems like this cohort of patients who answered the survey were skeptical of the information they were finding online,” Stukus said.
These patients always or often were searching for tips for school and travel (28%), signs and symptoms of a food allergy reaction (25%), support groups (23%), how to prevent food allergies (15%), how to treat allergic reactions (14%) and diagnostic testing (11%).
The survey asked these parents how often they discussed what they found online with their child’s allergist, with 48% saying occasionally, 43% saying never and 9% saying always or often.
Among those who never discussed their online searches with their allergist, 44% said they had not because it had never occurred to them to do so, with 8% saying there was not enough time and 6% saying they were hesitant to discuss differing opinions.
Additionally, 14% said that they had to stop using a social media group or site, with 8% saying they stopped because the information they found increased their anxiety, 6% said the information they found was inaccurate, and 3% reported that the site was really a marketing service.
“Only 1% said that they were subject to online bullying,” Stukus said of those who stopped using a social media group or site.
The survey further asked how often parents trust information from various sources.
“They tend to have the most trust in professional organizations and allergists and the least trust in celebrities, which I suppose is somewhat reassuring,” Stukus said.
Specifically, parents said they always or often trust professional organizations (65%), allergists (58%), advocacy organizations (47%), other parents (23%) and celebrities (6%).
The researchers concluded that these parents were finding information from various sources online, with variable trust in that information, and that they were not consistently discussing these searches with their child’s allergist.
“The take-home message for all of us I suppose would be we can proactively discuss information found online and how that can impact medical decision-making and help parents of food-allergic children make their decisions based on information they find online,” Stukus said.