Oral Immunotherapy-Related Awareness, Attitudes, and Experiences Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Food Allergy Patients/Caregivers

Background: Advances in oral immunotherapy (OIT) have led to recently expanded treatment options for food allergy (FA) patients. However, to inform future outreach efforts and ensure equitable access to emerging treatments, a greater understanding of current OIT-related awareness, attitudes, and experiences is needed.

Objective: To characterize current OIT awareness, attitudes, and experiences among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults with FA and parents/caregivers of pediatric patients.

Methods: A probability-based sample of U.S. adults and parents/caregivers of children with FA was surveyed about OIT-related knowledge, attitudes, and experiences.

Results: Surveys were completed by respondents (n = 781) from all 50 states. Overall, 72% did not know what OIT was prior to the survey. Respondents from households earning over $100,000 or with a college degree each had significantly greater odds of reporting any OIT awareness compared with lower-income (odds ratio 2.0; 95% confidence interval 1.2-3.4) and non-college-educated (odds ratio 1.9; 95% confidence interval 1.2-3.0) respondents. Among respondents familiar or unfamiliar with OIT, 54% and 34%, respectively, reported their expected treatment outcome was to obtain protection against accidental exposure. Among respondents familiar or unfamiliar with OIT, 38% and 35%, respectively, reported their expected treatment outcome to be curing the allergy. Furthermore, 55% of OIT unfamiliar respondents said they would not be comfortable initiating a conversation with their health care provider about their suitability for OIT.

Conclusions: This study shows that, among a nationally representative sample of FA patients and pediatric caregivers, awareness of OIT is low, and over 95% of patients lack personal experience with OIT. Furthermore, the data suggest current OIT awareness is disproportionately elevated among wealthier, more highly educated respondents.