The Evaluation of Evidence-Based Asthma & Food Allergy Management Plan to Keep Children with Asthma & Food Allergies Safe at Schoo

Due to the increased prevalence of asthma & food allergies in children and the potential for deadly consequences, significant amounts of research have been conducted on topics related to pediatric asthma & food allergies (cdc.org). Children spend the majority of their waking hours at school or in the care of a caregiver. Children are engaged in school or after school related activities for most of their waking hours. One major area of concern for children with asthma & food allergies is keeping them safe while in an environment outside of the home and away from their parents or caregivers. Parents of a child with asthma, food allergies, or both worry about the well being of their child every time their child leaves home. Parents worry if their child will have a serious crisis related to asthma or food allergies and if the crisis will be managed appropriately. In the state of Illinois the State Board of Education has set in place guidelines for managing life-threatening events such as asthma attacks and reactions to food allergies but how effective are the guidelines set in place by the state. The guidelines used today may not be current with today's evidence-based practice and changes may need to be made if the effects of evidence-based practice is not enough in keeping children with asthma and food allergies safe at school. The guidelines should protect the children at risk and assist the school district in making changes to state mandated protocols that may not be evidence based. Keywords: asthma, food allergies, evidence-based practice, school district, safety.