Defense Date

7-16-2021

Graduation Date

Summer 8-7-2021

Submission Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program

School

School of Nursing

Faculty Mentor

Manjulata Evatt

Keywords

epinephrine auto injectors, food allergies, anaphylaxis, school nursing, adolescents, and fear

Abstract

Abstract

Background and Significance: More than 40% of children with food allergies have experienced anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition (Food Allergy Research & Education [FARE], 2021). Anaphylactic reactions require immediate treatment with an intramuscular injection of epinephrine by a health care professional or by a self-injectable epinephrine auto-injector device. If anaphylactic symptoms are not promptly recognized and treated, fatal consequences may occur (FARE, 2021). Repeated education, training, and a supportive social environment, specifically with adolescents, have been found to facilitate self-management with food-induced anaphylaxis (Comberiati et al., 2019). Purpose: In this quality improvement project, virtual education interventions to increase food allergy and anaphylaxis knowledge and confidence levels among 8th-grade students and parents/guardians were presented using the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) website. Intervention and Implementation Plan: The development and implementation of a two-week virtual classroom focused on education derived from the FARE organization targeting 8th-grade students and parents/guardians. A pre-and post-education questionnaire was administered to participants assessing both knowledge and confidence relative to food allergies and anaphylaxis. In addition, a focus group was conducted assessing student perception of the virtual classroom program benefits. Results and Implications: The means of the pre-and post-knowledge education scores showed meaningful improvement (t = 8.18, p < .001) with a large Cohen’s d effect size 1.13 (95% CI [0.781,1.48]. The means of the pre-and post-confidence scores also showed improvement (t =8.68, p < .001) with a large Cohen’s d effect size 1.20 (95% CI [0.843,1.56]. The results of the focus group revealed that students found the program beneficial. Implications for nursing practice include bringing evidence-based practice to the school community, enhancing interprofessional collaboration among educators, certified school nurses, students, and parents/guardians aligning with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) Guidelines for Healthy Schools.

Keywords: Epinephrine, epinephrine auto-injector, food allergies, nut allergies, anaphylaxis, and fear

Language

English

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