Le savoir expérientiel des enfants aux prises avec des allergies alimentaires
Families with a food-allergic child often mention unmet education needs. Recognizing the experiential knowledge from living with the illness and entrusting the patient with greater responsibilities could better the health care and respond to the families’ needs. However, experiential knowledge is not well documented in children with chronic health conditions.  Therefore, the objective in our study was to explore the experiential knowledge of children under 13 years old living with food allergies as recounted by them and their families to include their views in clinical practice. Thirty-three participants were interviewed including 14 children between eight and twelve years old and 19 parents. Interviews were analyzed using a general inductive approach.  Our study shows that the development of experiential knowledge in food-allergic children starts in childhood. Children’ experiential knowledge is mostly acquired by applying teachings and experiencing reactions. The different illness perspectives between the child and his parents explain the distinctive properties of the children’s experiential knowledge. In food-allergic children, experiential knowledge promotes self-management skills and also senses of normality and balance thus contributing to better quality of life.  In conclusion, experiential knowledge of food-allergic children exists and should be recognized. This knowledge is distinctive from their parent’s and impacts positively the children’s self-management skills and their own illness perspective. Clinicians and parents would benefit of support and methods to understand and mobilize the food-allergic child’s experiential knowledge.
Recherche qualitative Experiential knowledge Pediatric Qualitative research