Needs Assessment for Eosinophilic Esophagitis Education in School Nurses

Abstract

Over the past 2 decades, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has become increasingly recognized as a common cause of gastrointestinal morbidity in children. A mainstay of treatment is food avoidance, which must be implemented in both the home and school settings for school-aged children. The aim of this study is to assess school nurses’ familiarity with EoE with regard to food avoidance and treatment in the school setting. We conducted a 19-question online survey of 60 school nurses (elementary through high school) recruited from Dauphin, Lebanon, and Lancaster Counties in Pennsylvania. Results indicated that 62% of respondents were familiar with EoE. However, only 22% felt comfortable distinguishing between symptoms of EoE and food-dependent anaphylaxis. Almost all respondents (97%) were interested in learning more about EoE. We report significantly increased familiarity with food-dependent anaphylaxis in comparison with EoE among school nurses. There is an interest and need for increasing education on EoE.

A Qualitative Exploration of School Nurse Continuing Education Needs

“…CE can improve nursing workforce outcomes in areas such as behavior change and knowledge growth (Krugman & Warren, 2011), and evidence indicates that CE can be a valuable intervention in areas such as student advocacy and mental health care (Bohnenkamp et al, 2019; Gormley, 2019). Although CE has been shown to be useful, most evidence describing school nurse CE needs is in the context of topic-focused needs assessments (Bogale et al, 2022; Carlisle et al, 2010; Garbers et al, 2018). A comprehensive understanding of school nurse learning needs is needed to guide CE development that supports the full scope of the school nursing role.…”