PEANUT ALLERGEN IMMUNOTHERAPY: ONLINE EDUCATION IMPROVES KNOWLEDGE OF ALLERGIST LEARNERS

Introduction A study was conducted to determine if an online educational intervention could improve knowledge and competence of allergists in the latest research on peanut allergen immunotherapies. Methods A 30-minute online educational intervention consisting of 3 video-based expert discussions among two faculty each covered topics related to the latest research on peanut allergen immunotherapy. Educational effect was evaluated with a repeated-pairs pre- to post-assessment study design in which each individual learner acts as his/her own control. A paired 2-tailed t-test evaluated whether the mean pre- and post-assessment scores significantly differed from one another and Pearson's X2 test measured changes in paired responses to individual questions. Cramer's V was used to calculate the effect size of the intervention. Data from the educational intervention were collected between September 28, 2017 and November 14, 2017. Results Participation in education resulted in statistically significant improvements and an extensive educational effect for allergists (n=155; P • Identification of the role of epidermal Langerhans cells in activating regulatory T cells (28% improvement) • Knowledge of safety of epicutaneous immunotherapy for peanut allergy (9% improvement) • Importance of the clinical relevance of a higher peanut protein threshold (105% improvement) • Confidence in discussing evidence regarding peanut allergen immunotherapy with patients (62% improvement) Conclusions Participation in online, video-based expert discussions of latest research in peanut allergen immunotherapies resulted in significant improvement in knowledge of allergists.