Impact of food allergies on school nursing practice

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Allergy
• School Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Food allergies affect millions, with a notable rise in pediatric cases.
• Peanut allergies in children have doubled, highlighting a growing public health concern.
• Strict allergen avoidance is currently the only management strategy, as no cure exists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the prevalence of food allergies in elementary schools.
• To evaluate current school nursing practices for managing food allergies and anaphylaxis.
• To identify needs for improved food allergy response protocols in schools.

Main Methods:

• Nationwide telephone survey of 400 elementary school nurses.
• Data collection on reported increases in food allergies, number of affected students, staff training, and epinephrine storage.
• Analysis of preventive strategies and identified needs for standardized training and epinephrine access.

Main Results:

• 44% of school nurses reported an increase in students with food allergies.
• Over one-third of schools had 10 or more students with food allergies.
• While 78% provided staff training, 90% stored student epinephrine in the nurse's office, indicating potential access issues.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant and growing problem of food allergies in elementary schools.
• Current school practices for managing food allergies and anaphylaxis require enhancement.
• Standardized training and improved access to epinephrine are necessary for effective anaphylaxis response in schools.