Abstract

Food allergies are a growing public health concern among school-aged children and can lead to life-threatening reactions if not recognized and managed properly. This Doctoral Scholarly Project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational PowerPoint intervention designed to improve elementary school personnel's knowledge of food allergies. The project focused on increasing awareness of common food allergens, recognizing signs and symptoms of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, and providing appropriate first-line management, including timely epinephrine administration.

A pre-experimental design using a pre-test/post-test format was implemented with elementary school staff participants. Baseline knowledge and perceived confidence were assessed using a brief 10-question test prior to viewing educational PowerPoint slides. Participants then completed the same test after viewing the educational intervention. The perceived usefulness of the education was also evaluated. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results.

Findings demonstrated identical responses before and after the intervention on the questions assessing knowledge and perceived confidence, indicating no observable change. This suggests possible prior familiarity with the content. However, qualitative feedback indicated that at least one participant perceived value in the education and expressed interest in future training. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring educational interventions to the audience's baseline knowledge and incorporating more interactive or advanced content to enhance learning outcomes.

Author Details

Sonja M. Hubka, DNP(c), BSN

Sigma Membership

Tau Tau

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Quality Improvement

Research Approach

Quantitative Research

Keywords:

Food Allergy Education, Food Allergy, Food Allergy Prevention, Anaphylaxis, Epinephrine, Elementary Schools, Educational Presentations, School Staff, Teacher Education, Emergency Preparedness, Knowledge Assessment, Elementary School Teachers, School Safety

Advisor

Lyndsi Hall

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Nebraska Methodist College

Degree Year

2026

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2026-10-14

Full Text of Presentation

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