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Evaluating the Food Allergy Passport: A Novel Food Allergy Clinical Support Tool
Ashley Ciliberti1, Justin Zaslavsky2, Tegan Morcott2
1Division of Allergy and Immunology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill.
Insights
The FA Passport tool significantly improved caregiver confidence in managing pediatric food allergies, including epinephrine use and recognizing anaphylaxis. This resource enhances quality of life for families with food allergies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Public Health Interventions
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Pediatric food allergy (FA) prevalence has risen, imposing significant economic and psychosocial burdens on families, particularly those with lower incomes.
- Previous research identified unmet needs in FA management among vulnerable populations.
- The FA Passport and Workbook were developed based on a needs assessment to address these identified gaps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the FA Passport tool in improving FA management and quality of life for families insured by Medicaid.
- To assess caregiver knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to FA management before and after using the FA Passport.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of families with children diagnosed with FA through Illinois Medicaid from two allergy clinics in Chicago.
- Administration of pre- and post-intervention surveys (immediately and 3 months later) to assess caregiver knowledge, confidence, and quality of life.
- Clinician-guided use of the FA Passport tool with caregivers, followed by feedback collection.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in caregiver confidence with epinephrine autoinjector use (69% to 93%) and anaphylaxis recognition (66% to 73%).
- Substantial increase in caregiver comfort with leaving children in the care of others (40% to 75.7%).
- High overall rating of the FA Passport tool by caregivers (9.4 out of 10).
Conclusions:
- The FA Passport is an effective clinical support tool for pediatric food allergy management.
- The tool successfully addresses barriers to proper FA management, enhancing caregiver comfort and knowledge.
- Implementation of the FA Passport improves the quality of life for families affected by food allergies.
Background:
The prevalence of pediatric food allergy (FA) has increased in the past 2 decades. The previous literature suggests that FA presents burdens, both economically and psychosocially, to children and their caregivers, especially families in lower-income strata. Using data from a previously published needs assessment, the Food Allergy Management in Low-Income Youth study, the FA Passport and Workbook tools were developed to address identified needs.
Objective:
This study evaluated the utility of the FA Passport in helping families insured by Medicaid to manage FA better and improve quality of life.
Methods:
Families insured through Illinois Medicaid were recruited from two Chicago-based allergy clinics. Caregivers of children with FA completed a pretest evaluating knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding FA management. A clinician guided caregivers through the FA Passport. The caregivers then completed a posttest immediately afterward and again 3 months later. Changes were evaluated from baseline responses and direct feedback was elicited about the tool.
Results:
The FA Passport successfully improved caregiver-reported confidence with epinephrine autoinjector use (from 69% to 93%), caregiver anaphylaxis recognition (from 66% to 73%), and reported quality of life, and it nearly doubled caregiver comfort regarding leaving the child in the care of others (from 40% to 75.7%). Caregivers rated the FA Passport tool as extremely helpful overall (9.4 out of 10).
Conclusions:
The FA Passport is a novel FA clinical support tool that addresses barriers to proper FA management described in previous studies. It proved effective at improving caregiver comfort with regarding leaving the food-allergic children with other caregivers, increasing FA knowledge, and improving the quality of life in families affected by FA.
