About This Project

One in thirteen children is diagnosed with a food allergy, putting them at great risk each day they attend school, where staff may be ill prepared. It is hypothesized that staff at K-5 schools are more knowledgeable about food allergies, than staff in higher grades. This study will survey Princeton Public School staff to assess their understanding of food allergies and determine whether knowledge is inconsistent and where additional education might be necessary.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

In the past 22 years there has been a 50% increase in children diagnosed with food allergies. With over 5.6 million children with food allergies attending school every day, staff should be prepared to address these potentially fatal reactions.

As an individual with an anaphylactic food allergy, I have experienced the variability in staff preparedness. Schools with younger children frequently offer allergy-friendly tables and more accommodations than schools serving older students. As children mature, their freedom grows disproportionately to their capacity to manage their food allergies, resulting in a higher likelihood of accidental exposure and reactions in higher grades of grade school.

What is the significance of this project?

Determining the level of knowledge, awareness, and insight of the Princeton Public School (PPS) staff is important because it has implications surrounding the safety and wellness of Princeton students. With 15% of allergic reactions in school caused by accidental exposure there is a great opportunity to reduce such accidents. By determining the overarching level of knowledge, as well as the variability amongst the staff working with different grades there is an opportunity to target training and education. Although this project will only determine the level of knowledge of one school district, it can be used as a model for other school districts in the US, and the world.

What are the goals of the project?

The project will determine if the age of the students at a school correlates with the staff’s knowledge of food allergies. The level of knowledge for each group will be established and any significant differences between the three groups will be highlighted.

Another goal is to determine the efficiency of the PPS staff’s allergy training. If the average level of knowledge is unsafely low, then allergy training should be more thorough, and if the staff’s average knowledge is at a safe level, the allergy training can be used as a model.