Led by the University of Bristol’s CAESAR team, the work was carried out through a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership (PSP). The process brought together patients, carers and clinicians to agree which unanswered research questions matter most to those living with and treating childhood food allergy.
Food allergy affects around one in five children in the UK, with families often facing uncertainty around diagnosis, inconsistent advice, anxiety about severe reactions, and challenges in schools and childcare settings. By centring lived experience alongside clinical expertise, the partnership ensured the final priorities reflect real-world needs rather than academic interest alone.
Many families and professionals took part in surveys and workshops last year or helped promote the PSP. The newly published priorities are the result of that collective effort and represent a shared vision for where research should focus next.
The Top 10 priorities span the full pathway of care, including prevention in early life, faster and more accurate diagnosis, safer and more effective treatments, better prediction and prevention of severe reactions, and improved emotional and psychological support for children and families. They also highlight the need to improve care across healthcare settings, strengthen professional training, reduce inequalities, and support children and young people to live full, confident lives.
This work aligns closely with previous research supported by the SPCR, emphasising patient and public involvement, primary care relevance, mental wellbeing, and reducing health inequalities. By providing a clear, patient-driven roadmap, the priorities will help guide future funding decisions and ensure that new studies focus on outcomes that truly matter to families.
A short video summarising the priority-setting process is available on YouTube, and the full Top 10 priorities, as well as the wider Top 25 discussed at the final workshop, can be viewed online.
Together, these priorities set a strong foundation for the next generation of UK childhood food allergy research, with the potential to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and everyday quality of life for thousands of children and their families
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CAESAR sits within the Centre for Academic Primary Care, NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR), University of Bristol. It works closely with the Bristol Trials Centre and builds on existing studies (TIGER, ATHENA) and collaborations. The centre also hosts the Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC) and NIHR SPCR Skin and Allergy specialist interest groups.