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Food allergy needs assessment, training curriculum, and knowledge assessment for child care
Bruce J Lanser1, Ronina Covar1, J Andrew Bird2
1National Jewish Health & University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado.
Insights
Child care workers often lack food allergy training. A new curriculum significantly improved their knowledge of food allergy recognition, treatment, and management, enhancing child safety in care settings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy
- Child Care Safety
- Public Health Education
Background:
- Over half of US preschool children attend child care.
- Approximately 8% of 3-5 year olds have food allergies.
- Child care center workers (CCCWs) need better food allergy education.
Purpose of the Study:
- Assess educational needs of CCCWs regarding food allergies.
- Develop and implement a food allergy and anaphylaxis training curriculum.
- Evaluate the training curriculum's effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- Online needs assessment survey distributed to child care centers.
- Live training curriculum developed covering recognition, treatment, and labeling.
- Pretests and posttests administered to measure knowledge gain.
Main Results:
- 46% of surveyed workers had prior food allergy training.
- Training significantly improved test scores from 54% to 83% (P < .001).
- Knowledge increased across all assessed areas.
Conclusions:
- CCCWs have varied backgrounds and limited standardized food allergy training.
- A significant knowledge gap exists regarding food allergies and anaphylaxis.
- The developed curriculum effectively enhanced CCCW knowledge.
Background:
More than half of preschool-aged children are enrolled in child care in the United States. Roughly 8% of children between 3 and 5 years of age have a food allergy. Child care center workers (CCCWs) are important caregivers who frequently encounter food allergies, but little is known about their education and understanding of food allergy and anaphylaxis.
Objective:
To perform a food allergy and anaphylaxis educational needs assessment, provide a training curriculum for CCCWs, and assess the effectiveness of the training curriculum.
Methods:
An online educational needs assessment and live training curriculum addressing food allergy recognition, treatment, and food labeling with pretests and posttests were created, and content and face validity were obtained. A needs assessment survey was sent to centers in Dallas and Tarrant counties. The training curriculum was performed at continuing education conferences.
Results:
Seventy-three workers responded to the needs assessment, with 46% reporting prior food allergy training. They reported information sources as parents (73%), self (54%), educational curricula (21%), and conferences (19%). Most believed they have a high or moderately high proficiency in food allergy management. Forty-five workers participated in the training curriculum. Total scores improved from 54% correct on the pretest to 83% correct on the posttest (P < .001). Categorical subanalysis reveals similar results, with statistically significant improvement in all areas.
Conclusion:
CCCWs have diverse educational backgrounds and infrequently experience standardized training about food allergies. There is a significant lack of knowledge regarding food allergies and anaphylaxis. The curriculum was successful at increasing food allergy knowledge among CCCWs.
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