Theme 4: Socioeconomic impact of food allergy
Leader: Lynn Frewer
Overall Aim
The main activities of this theme are to:
- Develop optimal strategies for conveying information about allergens in foods to consumers (targeted labelling and additional information)(Work Leader: Sylvia Pfaff)
- Develop and validate instruments to assess the impact on quality of life of food allergy and apply these instruments to assess the impact of food allergy on the quality of life of food allergic consumers and their families (Work Leader: Tony Dubois)
- Develop and validate and apply instruments designed to assess the economic impact of food allergy, and apply them to assessing the economic costs to society at the level of the household, health care and industry.(Work Leader: Miranda Mugford)
Socioeconomic aspects of food allergy
The potential impact of food allergy in terms of economic costs, (to the individual, families, and related to industry), and on the quality of life (QoL) of allergic consumers, are not well understood. Effective and validated instruments [questionnaires] for measuring the economic consequences and effect of food allergy on QoL must first be developed, and then applied in selected centres in the birth cohort (WP1.1) and food allergic individuals identified in the community surveys (WP1.2) and diagnosed with food allergy through WP1.3. This will provide a credible assessment of the socio-economic impact of food allergy. The instruments developed will be used to assess the impact of unequivocal diagnosis (such as DBPCFC) on QoL, whilst the economic impact will be assessed in terms of direct and indirect costs at the level of the individual and the household, when applied at selected centres from Theme 1.
Information delivery
In order to maximise the effectiveness of risk management strategies, it is important to identify best practice in information delivery (including ICT solutions) for consumers regarding potentially allergic ingredients. This will entail consideration of the existing and emerging legislative framework pertinent to food allergy, particularly regarding ingredient traceability and labelling.
The research proposed in Theme 4 builds on the outputs of previous EU-funded research, particularly the concerted action project funded through FP5, INFORMALL. It will develop an area of research which a pan-European expertise is currently limited. Indeed research into the economic costs of allergic disease has been almost entirely limited to studies in the USA and the UK. Consequently the development of the instruments for assessing economic impact and effect of food allergy on quality of life will draw on this hub although their application through the cohorts of food allergic individuals and their families in Theme 1 will have a pan-European nature. The widening of the expertise base will be effected both through the training and mobility programme AND the institution of a mini-call to bring in additional partners, particularly from Southern Europe and Candidate Countries to be involved in the validation and application of the instruments