As the incidence of anaphylaxis increases, communities need to know how to recognize and respond to allergy emergencies. Allergists can play an impactful role in allergy preparedness by teaching first responders how they can teach schools about anaphylaxis.
One way Code Ana helps prepare communities for anaphylaxis is through its train-the-trainer (TTT) programs. Our inaugural TTT program was a collaboration with the Allison Rose Foundation. The program included board-certified allergists teaching first responders how to teach schools about food allergy, anaphylaxis, and epinephrine. Instructor training initially occurred in-person but, due to COVID and scalability, training was converted to a hybrid training (primarily asynchronous, online course with live, synchronous components required) and expanded to include more in-depth allergy education and teaching strategies.
In our pilot program, one allergist trained 11 first responders through in-person training. Seven of these first responders then completed the new hybrid training, six of whom then completed a survey comparing the in-person to the new hybrid training: all respondents found the additional anaphylaxis education within the online training to be at least very helpful, and most found the recorded demonstration presentation extremely helpful.
Probably the most exciting part of this program is the number of individuals trained. The initial 11 first responders instructed 63 schools, reaching over 4,000 people (approximately 3,956 students and 295 school staff)! These numbers highlight that Code Ana’s train-the-trainer program allows for board-certified allergists to train first responders and, thus, reach a greater number of individuals compared to the reach of a single allergist alone. The use of the hybrid training allows for effective teaching without compromising the quality of content and education.
This work is so important that it was presented at the 2021 American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology National Conference!
Are you interested in becoming a Code Ana Certified Trainer? Reach out to us!
