Students report lack of food allergy awareness on college campuses
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Key takeaways:
- 28.2% of students with a food allergy reported having a reaction in a campus dining hall.
- 40.9% felt a limited ability to bond with peers.
- 35.5% did not feel confident in others’ abilities to use autoinjectors.
SAN ANTONIO — Colleges and universities should take steps to improve food allergy awareness on campus, according to data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.
“Food allergies impact roughly 11% of adults in the United States, and allergic reactions are becoming more common among young adults and adolescents,” Kethan M. Bajaj, an undergraduate student at Northwestern University, said during his presentation. “However, colleges are not adequately prepared to support these students.”
Previous research has described how people with food allergies experience social events differently, Banaj said, causing exclusion, awkwardness and other feelings. As a result, he continued, food allergy education and knowledge are essential to improving food allergy management on college campuses.
The researchers distributed an online, cross-sectional survey to college students across the country, first during the summer of 2021 and again during the summer of 2022. The survey queried students about food allergy awareness on campus, food allergy knowledge and education, and the social impacts of food allergy.
“Descriptive statistics were used to assess students’ understandings and experiences with food allergies and determine methods to improve college life for students with food allergies,” Bajaj said.
The researchers collected responses from 193 students from 65 universities across the country, with 38.3% of the respondents reporting that they had a food allergy.
Among the students with food allergies, 82.9% said they attend events where food is present but they choose not to eat, 75.6% said they feel like a burden on their friend group, 68.3% said they feel awkward and 63.4% said they attend events where food is present but they eat beforehand.
Also, 28.2% said they had experienced an allergic reaction in a campus dining hall since starting college and 63.6% said they feel worried or anxious about living with roommates who consume allergens in the room.
Further, 40.9% said they felt a limited ability to bond with peers, and 35.5% said they did not feel confident in their peers’ ability to use an epinephrine autoinjector.
Among all the respondents, 36.4% said they would be interested in being involved with a food allergy awareness organization on campus, and 79.8% said they wished they knew more about assisting someone during an allergic reaction.
The survey also found that 37.8% of all respondents were not confident in their own ability to administer epinephrine autoinjectors, but 58.6% said they would attend a training course in using them.
“These results demonstrate the need for increased epinephrine autoinjector training among the college population to improve safety for students with food allergies,” Bajaj said.
Plus, 68.9% of all respondents said increased food allergy awareness training for college students would improve life for students with food allergy on campuses.
“Universities across the nation must take steps to improve food allergy awareness on campuses, whether that be in the form of training courses, awareness videos or other means,” Bajaj said.
For example, Northwestern University’s Spotlight food condition club has provided epinephrine autoinjector training sessions and painted pumpkins teal to promote awareness. It also plans on hosting guest speakers who will address food allergy management for college students.
“This should be a pretty exciting opportunity for students to become more comfortable and know more about food allergies,” Bajaj said. “We are pretty excited to see where this club can go.”
Perspective
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As the prevalence of both pediatric and adult-onset food allergy rises, it is becoming increasingly imperative to understand the social impacts and safety of college students with food allergies. Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by factors such as identity formation, the heightened salience of social and romantic relationships, and an increased propensity toward risk-taking. Perhaps not surprisingly, rates of anaphylactic morbidity and mortality are highest among adolescence and young adults, and efforts to mitigate such risk are critical.
This poster makes a significant contribution by highlighting both social impacts and peer safety gaps related to food allergy. Findings related to the social impacts of food allergy largely parallel my experiences leading monthly virtual programs for middle school, high school and college students with food allergy through Food Allergy Research & Education. Youth often describe feeling awkward or like the “ugly duckling,” especially when much of adolescent social life revolves around food. For many youth with food allergy, the transition to college is a particularly anxiety-provoking experience.
The most novel aspect of this poster is the reported support for improving food allergy education on college campuses. It is highly encouraging that most participants, including those with and without food allergy, expressed interest in attending an epinephrine autoinjector training course and learning more about assisting someone during an allergic reaction. My work has primarily focused on peer support among individuals with allergy. These results offer hope in that peers without food allergy may also contribute to decreasing the social burden and improving safety among college students with food allergy.
Colleges may wish to engage in campus-wide food allergy education initiatives. While the focus on food allergy among college students is often restricted to safe dining options, these findings suggest that peer education efforts would be of interest and impactful. Simple, low-cost efforts could go a long way. For example, freshman orientation or health classes could include a module on anaphylaxis, as well as mandatory training in epinephrine administration.
Although this poster focuses on college students specifically, education efforts could extend even earlier, preparing peers to recognize and treat anaphylaxis as early as the elementary, middle or high school years. Many health classes require training in first aid, CPR, choking and automated external defibrillator use. It would seem worthwhile to expand this to include anaphylaxis and epinephrine use.
References:
Comberiati P, et al. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019;doi:10.1097/ACI.0000000000000572.
Engel M, et al. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2021;doi:10.1016/j.iac.2021.01.005.
Teen talk. https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/teen-talk. Accessed March 28, 2023.
Collapse
Bajaj KM, et al. Abstract 311. Presented at: AAAAI Annual Meeting; Feb. 24-27, 2023; San Antonio.
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