Parent’s knowledge on children alimentary allergy

Abstract

Background. Allergic diseases are the most common childhood chronic diseases. They affect around 20% of the pediatric population in Poland. The most common is asthma, but atopic diseases and allergic rhinitis are also quite frequent. Nurses play a key role in care for children with an allergy, help to reduce their anxiety and provide emotional support. According to modern nuring theory, a nurse should prepare families with a sick child to self-care and help to adapt them to the new situation. Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine parents knowledge on their child’s alimentary allergy. Material and methods. The study was conducted from 30 June 2014 to 26 September 2014 among parents of patients on Pediatric Allergy Clinical Division at Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Wroclaw and randomly selected parents of children with allergies by means of an online survey. The study included 50 parents. The study was carried out using the method of diagnostic survey with an anonymous questionnaire developed by the author. Calculations were performed using Microsoft Excel. Results. Respondents indicated that the best prepared person to provide patients with knowledge about prevention and handling of allergic diseases is a doctor, 84% of them. Only 8% believe that the nursing staff is competent enough to educate patients. Respondents expect medical staff to provide them with reliable information. They do not wish to gain the information from the Internet only because there is nobody with enough time or enough knowledge available for them. People with higher education, statistically significantly (36%), were more aware of the protective effect of breastfeeding, only 11% of them believed that breastfeeding does not have any impact on the risk of developing allergies. Conclusions. 1. Parents’ knowledge about alimentary allergies is very low. 2. Trust in nurses as competent in patients education is alarmingly low. 3. The majority of respondents believe their knowledge is insufficient and is willing to improve it. 4. People with higher education have a greater awareness of breastfeeding as a factor in reducing the risk of allergies.