Assessing the Performance of Citizen Science in a Food Hypersensitivity Research Pilot

Food hypersensitivity (FHS) is a significant health issue that has extensive impacts on quality of life and mental health, causing stress, anxiety, and depression. One of the most challenging settings for managing FHS is eating food prepared outside the home (eating out) and is associated with an increased risk of accidental consumption of allergens. Citizen science may offer several advantages over conventional research methods for exploring experiences of FHS and eating out because of the personal connection that people have with the issue and the ability of the citizen science approach to provide more detailed and real-time information. In this study we piloted a co-designed FHS citizen science project to assess the extent and depth of participant engagement and motivations to participate, and the value of citizen science in FHS research. To do so, we constructed binomial and generalised linear models to predict conversion rate (from registrant to participant) and activity ratios, and we evaluated the completeness of responses. We also undertook a series of workshops and interviews, both before and after the project, with participants and project partners. A total of 121 individuals with FHS registered as citizen scientists, of which over half (52%) went on to contribute observations during the four-month data collection period. Activity ratios aligned with other citizen science projects despite the time and economic constraints upon the project regarding opportunities for eating out. We identified females, older participants (44+), and full-time employed and student participants as having higher engagement with the project. The combination of quantitative analyses and qualitative feedback indicated strong personal motivations and the importance of community in taking part. Overall, there appears good potential to utilise citizen science in food allergen research, and several practical recommendations for doing so are identified herein.