An Intervention to Increase High School Students’ Compliance With Carrying Auto-Injectable Epinephrine

Abstract

Adolescents with life-threatening allergies are at a greater risk for a fatal anaphylactic event since only about half of them carry unexpired epinephrine available for emergency use. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of school nurse interventions that consisted of either routine or periodic checks during the school year for the availability of unexpired auto-injectable epinephrine. Seventy-seven students from 11 Massachusetts high schools participated in this study. Descriptive and chi-square (χ2) statistics as well as the Fisher’s exact test were used to analyze data. Findings suggest that while periodic checks for the availability of epinephrine throughout the school year do not increase the likelihood that students will have epinephrine available, those students who do carry their epinephrine are more likely to have unexpired medication with periodic reminders during the school year.