The Food Allergy Superheroes Training (FAST) Program

Summary

Among children with a food allergy, strict avoidance (e.g., elimination of allergenic foods from one's diet) is the only intervention capable of preventing potentially devastating health-related sequelae including anaphylaxis and death. Youths from low-income backgrounds are particularly impacted by food allergies and may be the population most apt to benefit from a brief, portable, and engaging skills-based intervention designed to teach young children the skills needed to remain adherent to food allergy safety guidelines. Data collected as part of the proposed project will lay the groundwork for a line of federally-funded intervention research broadly examining how to promote adherence to food allergy safety guidelines among young children from low-income backgrounds through implementation of a robust, efficient, and portable intervention.

Conditions

• Allergy;Food
• Adherence, Treatment
• Child, Only

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Food Allergy Superheroes Training (FAST) Program

The primary aim of the FAST intervention is to 1) increase the young child's understanding of food allergies (FA) and 2) promote-adherence to FA safety guidelines through active skills training. We will achieve this aim through the use of educational materials (session 1) and a developmentally-tailored skills training intervention (session 2-5). Core components embedded within each skill straining session include instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and reinforcement/corrective feedback. The young child and their parent/caregiver will be present for the entirety of all sessions; however, all intervention materials (i.e., educational content, skills training components) are designed with the young child as the primary focal point of interest. All children will be rewarded with a small toy (\<$5 value) at the end of each successfully completed session.

OTHER

Food Allergy Knowledge Intervention

The primary aim of the FAK intervention is to increase the young child's understanding of FAs including prevalence, symptoms, and management strategies among other topics. We will achieve this aim through the use of educational materials targeting knowledge acquisition through a variety of didactic materials made freely available through the Food Allergy Research Education (FARE) website (www.foodallergy.org). More specifically, we will employ information embedded within the "Food Allergy 101" segment of the FARE website. The young child and their parent/caregiver will be present for the entirety of all sessions; however, all intervention materials are designed with the young child as the primary focal point of interest. All children will be rewarded with a small toy (\<$5 value) at the end of each successfully completed session. All FAK sessions will occur within the child's home and will include informational handouts relevant to the day's session.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Rhode Island Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Memphis

  collaborator OTHER

• Kent State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Christopher A Flessner · Kent State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

6 Years

Max Age

8 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-07-01

Primary Completion

2023-06-30

Completion

2023-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations