Coping Process in Children with Food Allergies Developing during Early Childhood

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the coping process in children who developed food allergies in early childhood and evaluate the nursing support required to enable the acquisition of independent care behaviors in children with food allergies. Semi structured interviews were conducted on 24 children (aged 11 - 15 years) with food allergies using the modified grounded theory approach. The 11 categories were identified as coping mechanisms that these children used to deal with their early childhood food allergies. The coping process in children with food allergies involved transition from a stage of viewing their allergy with fear to a stage of considering the allergy as manageable and thus tackling allergens in their own way in the Life model. The process required obtaining peace of mind with support from others. In addition to emphasizing the threat of food allergies and risk aversion behaviors to these children, it is important that nurses also communicate viable proposals for alternative behaviors for the prohibited actions. The results also suggest that children in school age or older require support to help them recognize food allergy-related issues as problem-oriented coping tasks from the viewpoint of both Medical and Life models.