title: The management of situated risk: a parental perspective on child food allergy.
abstract: Food allergy is an illness that requires constant risk management in everyday life. To date, there is no cure or preventive treatment, and the only way to manage the condition is therefore careful avoidance of the offending foodstuff and treatment of reactions when they occur. This article draws on a socio-cultural approach to explore parents' understandings and management of child food allergy in the context of everyday life, as 'situated' risk. A focus group study was carried out with 31 parents of children diagnosed with food allergy at two children's hospitals. The analysis of the focus group material reveals how the management of allergy risk seems to permeate most aspects of everyday life as well as how the parents draw on a dominant norm of risk avoidance as well as a counter-discourse of calculated risk taking. The patterns of risk management found in this study are discussed in terms of how risk avoidance and risk taking are intertwined and balanced in the context of moral parenthood.
authors.affiliation: Stockholm University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marie-Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stjerna
authors.forename: Mirja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vetander
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wickman
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Olin Lauritzen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000322:Adrenergic Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012646:Self Administration; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D000322:Adrenergic Agonists; D004837:Epinephrine
keywords: child food allergy; everyday life; parents; risk management; situated risk