title: School Board Policies on Prevention and Management of Anaphylaxis in İstanbul: Where Do We Stand?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Allergic diseases with a potential for anaphylaxis pose a critical public health issue in schools.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was carried out to identify the current status of prevention and management of anaphylaxis in school children with the main goal of establishing such an action plan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Schools were randomly selected from 11 different regions of Istanbul. A questionnaire was filled out by 2596 teachers/school principals from 232 public schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A school safety committee was absent in 80% of elementary schools (ES) and 60.8% of preschools (PS). Although some form of health recording system was available in many schools, no such system was available in 24.5% of ESs and 10% of PSs. A specific inquiry for detecting children with food allergies was a routine practice in only 4% of ES and 10% of PS. Approximately 27% of teachers stated that monitoring children in school places was not possible at all times. Eighty four percent stated that no written anaphylaxis treatment protocol was available in their school and only around 2.3% in ES and 3.1% in PS stated that they would perform an epinephrine injection in the event of anaphylaxis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our survey demonstrated critical gaps in the organization of schools for the management of children at risk of anaphylaxis. Data derived from this study would provide the initiative for legislators to review the current situation of school health policies along with the relevant authorities to establish school anaphylaxis guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Özen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Perran
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boran
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Torlak
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Elif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karakoç-Aydıner
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Safa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barış
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karavuş
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Işıl
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barlan
keywords: Anaphylaxis; epinephrine; food allergy; school board policy