Presence of food allergy emergency action plans in Mississippi

Background: Multiple national, state, and local organizations recommend that emergency action plans (EAPs) direct therapy of allergic reactions in schoolchildren. Objective: To investigate the school nurse's perception of food allergies and the presence of EAPs for food allergic students in Mississippi. Methods: An investigator-developed food allergy survey was offered to all Mississippi public school nurses in 2008 and 2009. Results: The survey had a combined response rate of 29% (194/659) for the 2 years of the study. In both years, most participating school nurses had at least 1 food allergic student at their school (mean [SD], 11 [10] students per school). In 2008, 30% (28/93) of the school nurses reported that food allergy EAPs were present for all of their food allergic students, whereas 29% (27/93) of school nurses had 0% to 10% of their known food allergic students on EAPs. Similarly, in 2009, 37% (34/93) of school nurses reported all of their food allergic students possessed a food allergy EAP, whereas 26% (24/93) of school nurses had 0% to 10% of their known food allergic students on EAPs. In 2008, students were more likely to have food EAPs if the nurse received information on food allergies from parents or a physician or if the student attended a school in an urban area. However in 2009, only if the nurse received information from a physician were they more likely to have an EAP for their students. Conclusion: Although numerous organizations recommend food allergy EAPs for allergic students, our study highlights their inconsistent use in Mississippi.