Journal List > Allergy Asthma Respir Dis > v.6(2) > 1095724

Hwang, Kim, Lee, Yang, Lee, Jeon, Han, Kim, Kim, and Ahn: Perception of food allergy among parents and school health instructors: A nationwide survey in 2015

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to examine the perception of food allergy among parents and school health instructors in Korea.

Methods

A nationwide epidemiological survey in Korea was conducted in September 2015. From 17 cities and provinces, a total of 1,000 elementary, middle and high schools were selected by stratified random sampling. Parents and school health instructors were surveyed using a questionnaire on the perception of food allergy.

Results

The prevalence of food-induced anaphylaxis was 22.3%. Of 252 children with anaphylaxis, 47.6% were prescribed epinephrine autoinjector (EAI). Forty-three parents (37.7%) were educated about the use of EAI. Parents carrying their own EAI at all times or keeping them at schools were 5.6% and 3.8%, respectively. For the food allergen-labeling system, 42.1% of parents read food labels, and 32.1% were satisfied with the system. Only 35.2% of school health instructors received education on food allergy and anaphylaxis, and 42.5% of them knew how to use EAI. There were 70 children (9.4%) with anaphylaxis in school, and 75.9% of schools had the emergency management system.

Conclusion

The awareness of Korean parents and school health instructors on food allergy is still low, and many parents are dissat-isfied with the food allergen labeling system. Many school health instructors have difficulty in using EAI in case of anaphylaxis and are insufficiently educated about food allergy. Therefore, it is necessary to establish more systematic food allergy management plans by providing high-quality education to parents and school health instructors and by utilizing legal systems.

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Fig. 1.
Number of study population.
aard-6-97f1.tif
Table 1.
Characteristics of children with food allergies (n=30,088)
Variable No. (%)
Adverse reaction to foods 5,114 (17.0)
Immediate-type food allergy 1,143 (3.8)
Clinical manifestations of food allergy  
 Skin symptoms 1,034/1,129 (91.6)
 Anaphylaxis 252/1,129 (22.3)
 Gastrointestinal symptoms 198/1,129 (17.5)
 Respiratory symptoms 157/1,129 (13.9)
 Cardiovascular symptoms 12/1,129 (1.1)
Table 2.
Patterns of epinephrine autoinjector use in parents of children with food-induced anaphylaxis
Variable No. (%)
Prescription rate of EAI 120/252 (47.6)
Received advice as to how to use EAI 43/114 (37.7)
Experiences to use EAI 16/108 (14.8)
Carrying an EAI at all times 6/108 (5.6)
Keeping EAI at school 4/105 (3.8)

EAI, epinephrine autoinjector.

Table 3.
Perception of food allergen labeling in parents of children with adverse reaction to foods
Variable No. (%)
Awareness of food allergen labels 2,036/4,835 (42.1)
Satisfaction with food allergen labeling system 1,530/4,764 (32.1)
Dissatisfaction with food allergen labeling system
 Difficult to find food labels 1,690/3,175 (53.2)
 Need more detailed labels 1,657/3,175 (52.2)
 Lack of information of enforcement for food allergen labeling 1,421/3,175 (44.8)
 Difficult to read due to small letters 1,058/3,175 (33.3)
 Difficult to understand 992/3,175 (31.2)
 Need labels for more allergenic foods 768/3,175 (24.2)
 Others 101/3,175 (3.2)
Table 4.
Perception of anaphylaxis among school health instructors
Variable No. (%)
Experiences of food allergy education 262/744 (35.2)
Awareness of anaphylaxis 721/750 (96.1)
Presence of food allergy emergency plan at school 566/746 (75.9)
Presence of student with anaphylaxis 70/742 (9.4)
Knowing how to use EAI 313/736 (42.5)

EAI, epinephrine autoinjector.

Table 5.
Problems that school health instructors are concerned about when using epinephrine autoinjector in case of anaphylaxis
Variable No. (%)
Conflicts with current medical laws 634/739 (85.8)
Concerns about lack of legal protection for school health instructors 586/739 (79.3)
Insufficient skills for proper management of food allergy 108/739 (14.6)
Others 76/739 (10.3)
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