Evaluation of an educational programme with workshops for families of children with food allergies

Abstract

Background: When a child is diagnosed with a food allergy, prevention and patient education are the key interventions for maintaining the child's health and quality of life and that of his or her whole family. However, health education activities for the families of children with food allergies are very limited, and most of these activities have not been evaluated. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to develop an educational programme, to empower its participants through workshops, and to evaluate its results.

Methods: Several types of educational materials were created specifically for the programme, called "Proyecto CESA" ("STOP-FAR Project: Stop Food-Induced Allergic Reactions"). The programme was carried out in seven Spanish cities and was attended by parents and caregivers. The workshops were led by physicians specialising in allergies and by expert patients. Afterwards, participant learning and satisfaction were evaluated based on questionnaires that were completed both before and after the workshops.

Results: A significant improvement was observed in 29 items out of 40 (McNemar's test). Participant satisfaction with the programme was also very high: 90% rated the course between 8 and 10 points out of a possible 10 (41% rated it as a 10).

Conclusion: The face-to-face workshops, which included utilisation of educational materials, had positive results in terms of learning as well as in levels of satisfaction in participating families.

Keywords: Anaphylaxis; Food allergy; Health education; Patient education; Patient empowerment; Patient engagement; Quality of life.