Video helps kids understand anaphylaxis
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An animated video that was shown to children with a history of food-related anaphylaxis improved their understanding of anaphylaxis and how manage it, data show.
According to the CDC “there are some indications that the prevalence of food allergy may be increasing in the United States and in other countries.” Also, previous studies suggest that some parents of children with allergies do not recognize anaphylaxis symptoms, underuse epinephrine autoinjectors and lack knowledge on how to use them.
Jumanah Karim, MD, FRCPC, an allergy and clinical immunology fellow at McGill University Health in Montreal, and colleagues created a video to educate children and their parents about anaphylaxis.
“Our animation video was made to attract the attention of kids of different age groups. It starts with two kids playing video games,” Karim told Healio Primary Care. “Then they talk about having snacks, including peanuts. A discussion about food allergy in simple language between the kids follows.”
The researchers conducted a study to investigate the effectiveness of the video. They recruited 111 pediatric patients with a history of food-related anaphylaxis. The participants had a mean age of 5.7 years, the majority were boys and their mean baseline awareness score regarding triggers, recognition and management of anaphylaxis was 0.77 points ± 0.16 (range = 0.3-1) out of 1.
The participants and their parents were shown a 5-minute animated video that asked the following multiple-choice questions:
- “How soon does an allergic reaction start after eating the culprit food?”
- “What symptoms can you see in anaphylaxis?”
- “Which of the following does not belong to the eight most common allergens?”
- “What is the most common cause of anaphylaxis in Canadian children?”
- “Which of the following is the best treatment for anaphylaxis?”
- “After treating anaphylaxis with epinephrine, what is the next step?”
The findings, which were published in an online supplement to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology on Feb. 1 and presented during the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting, showed that the mean follow-up score was 0.81 ± 0.17 (range: 0.3-1).
“This score difference of 0.04 was statistically significant,” the researchers wrote. They added that there were no “significant associations” between score changes and sex or age of the participants.
“Watching an animation was more interesting for kids compared to other educational methods, like brochures. The video can also help educate younger kids who did not learn how to read yet,” Karim said.
Although recording the parents’ awareness scores and thoughts on the video went beyond the scope of the study, Karim said “they liked the video and enjoyed watching it with their children.”
The awareness test will be repeated at a 1-year interval to determine the participants’ “retention of knowledge,” according to the researchers.
A Canadian research network provided $15,000 in Canadian dollars for the development of the video, Karim said. She added the video will be publicly available once the researchers complete studies related to its use.
References
CDC. Food allergy among U.S. children: Trends in prevalence and hospitalizations. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db10.htm. Accessed Feb. 26, 2021.
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