Funding outcome

The only treatment for celiac disease is to follow the gluten-free diet. If children with celiac disease do not follow the gluten-free diet, this can cause an immune response that damages the gastrointestinal tract and impacts the way that nutrients are absorbed in their bodies. This can lead to poor growth and development into adulthood. However, the gluten-free diet is not necessarily the healthiest diet. In our previous work, children on the gluten-free diet had low intakes of folate, vitamin D & K, and poor diet quality (higher fat and sugar) when compared to age-gender matched children without celiac disease on gluten-containing diets. While parents and newly diagnosed children with celiac disease significantly increase their knowledge about the gluten-free diet from advice provided by health care professionals, some children with celiac disease continue to experience challenges with reduced diet quality and poor nutrient intake while on the gluten-free diet, even after dietary education. This is concerning as there are no nutrition guidelines for children in Alberta to address gluten-free diets or the nutritional inadequacies of the gluten-free diet to improve diet quality and overall health. To address this research gap, our research team has developed an evidence- based gluten-free food guide for children (5-18 years old). To ensure that the guide is appropriate and meets the needs of all Albertan children on the gluten-free diet, this project will focus on implementing and testing the new gluten-free food guide with children newly diagnosed with CD and their parents in the celiac clinic at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton. Testing was delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once this is resolved, focus groups or semi-structured interviews with both child-parent and health care professionals such as Registered Dietitians will also be conducted to obtain perspectives on the new gluten-free guide and how it can be further improved. Testing and evaluating the gluten-free food guide will ensure that it is useful and contains information that is appropriate and relevant for children with celiac disease, their parents, and health care professionals to use for many years to come. The availability of effective learning materials will help children who are following the gluten-free diet to gain the right knowledge and boost their confidence to make informed food choices to promote a healthy future.