Development of a novel parent-report measure of food allergy impact

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop an outcome measure for caregivers of children with food allergy.

Methods: A community-informed measure development process was utilised to generate a novel parent-reported outcome tool for caregivers of children with food allergy. We conducted focus groups with parents and caregivers of food-allergic (n = 18) children, following which a team of coders identified themes and generated an initial set of candidate items. These items were reviewed by content-area experts (n = 10) using content validity indices. We then conducted a series of cognitive interviews with parents of children with food allergy (n = 12) validating the instrument draft.

Results: We describe the results of these development steps as well as future steps to produce the final, validated form of the measure. The resultant 91-item measure is intended for parents of children ages two to 12 years.

Conclusion: This measure fills a unique need in the field by leveraging key stakeholders' perspectives to develop and subsequently validate a novel parent-reported measure of parent and family food allergy impacts of children ages two to 12 years old.

Keywords: measure development; paediatric food allergy; psychosocial impact.