Education Utilization for Atopic March Awareness in Pediatric Primary Care Providers

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to increase pediatric primary care providers’ awareness of current evidence of the atopic march progression through an educational presentation. Background: Allergies, asthma, and atopic dermatitis (AD) are some of the most common chronic conditions in pediatrics. The atopic march is the progression from AD to allergies and asthma. It was determined that there is a need for healthcare provider education to increase atopic march awareness. Methods: This project used a quality improvement (QI) project design. A needs assessment and literature synthesis were initially conducted, and a comprehensive evidenced-based atopic march educational presentation was created. The education was presented virtually to four pediatric providers currently working at United Community Health Center in Southern Arizona. Post-pre surveys were administered after the delivery of the presentation to assess for provider knowledge increase. Data analysis was then performed on the survey data. Results: All (100%) of the four (n=4) participants completed the survey. A chi-squared test was completed, and the p-values were generated for each of the eight survey questions. All p-values were found to be above 0.05, which indicated that a significant change in awareness did not occur. Conclusions: It was concluded that the virtual atopic march educational presentation was not effective at increasing provider awareness of the atopic march progression. This project had many limitations that could have influenced the results. Further investigation on the topic is recommended.