Community workers untrained in allergy reactions - study
Monday November 28th, 2016
Community health workers tend to exaggerate the threat from food allergy reactions - but lack the skills to treat them safely, researchers say today.
A
study of school first-aiders, community pharmacists and practice nurses
found that all three groups "significantly" overestimate the
risk of a child dying from a fatal allergic reaction.
Researchers at Imperial College, London, interviewed 30 people from each group for the research reported in Clinical & Experimental Allergy.
They found that participants in each category could not correctly administer an adrenaline auto-injector - including 83% of practice nurses and 60% of pharmacists.
Researcher Dr Robert Boyle said: “These devices could be the difference between life and death, yet their design is not simple or intuitive enough for use in an emergency situation. We need to develop easier-to-use treatments for severe allergic reactions.
He added: "This misperception of risk by school first aiders, pharmacists and practice nurses may lead to increased anxiety and restriction of activities for food-allergic children."
H.J Hanna et al. Community healthcare professionals overestimate the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for food allergic children Clinical & Experimental Allergy 28 November 2016
Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Child Health | Nursing & Midwifery | UK News
Printer friendly page