A NEWLY DEVELOPED WEB BASED ANAPHYLAXIS CURRICULUM IMPROVES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF UNASSIGNED EPINEPHRINE ADMINISTRATORS

Abstract

<h3>Introduction</h3> Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction. Children can suffer from anaphylactic reactions at school. In 2014, Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 195, which allows individuals to administer unassigned epinephrine in an emergency. This allows school staff to serve as unassigned epinephrine administrators (UEA's) during anaphylactic reactions. We developed an online training program which aims to help Pennsylvania school staff identify at risk children, manage, and treat anaphylaxis. This study measured the effectiveness of our online curriculum. <h3>Methods</h3> A newly developed web-based curriculum was distributed to UEA's within various Pennsylvania schools. An anonymous pre/post online survey (20-item survey) was administered to participants (UEA's) (n = 170). <h3>Results</h3> UEA's were identified as teachers (57%), administrators (15%), nurses (2%), and "other staff" (26%). Epinephrine was administered by ‘‘other staff'' most frequently (55%) followed by teachers (30%) and school nurses (15%). Prior to the integration of our standardized online curriculum training, 24% of UEA's were aware of the general signs/symptoms of anaphylaxis. 28% knew the first line treatment for anaphylaxis, and only 17% had correctly identified the 4 essential steps of epinephrine administration. Following the implementation of our online curriculum, follow up surveys revealed significant improvement in anaphylaxis assessment scores. 88% of UEA's were aware of signs/symptoms of anaphylaxis, 92% cited epinephrine as first-line therapy for anaphylaxis, and 79% had correctly identified the 4 essential steps of treatment compared with 12% before the training course. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Provision of online training for school staff increases availability and effectiveness of UEA's.