Supporting Children with Coeliac Disease: A RCT

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    An evaluation of a self-help psychological intervention to support gluten-free diet management, psychological wellbeing and quality-of-life in children and young people with coeliac disease.

  • IRAS ID

    347925

  • Contact name

    Rachel Francois-Walcott

  • Contact email

    r.francois-walcott@surrey.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Surrey

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    2 years, 3 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    Management of a strict, gluten-free diet is essential for children and young people (CYP) with coeliac disease, but this can negatively impact psychological wellbeing and quality of life. Despite calls from families, clinicians and researchers, psychological support is not routinely available for these families. This is surprising, given the mounting evidence for self-help psychological resources (e.g. guided self-help books, websites) in supporting the self-management, and wellbeing, of a range of long-term conditions.
    This project will evaluate a psychological intervention to help families living with coeliac disease. We have worked with families and clinicians to adapt existing self-help interventions for coeliac disease and conducted a pilot randomised control trial. This smaller project highlighted a high demand for psychological support. Therefore, we will now run a larger randomised controlled trial to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the psychological intervention.

  • REC name

    West of Scotland REC 5

  • REC reference

    24/WS/0166

  • Date of REC Opinion

    21 Jan 2025

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion