Abstract
Background : The number of children with food allergies has been increasing in recent years and childcare facilities need to manage them. The objective of this study was to determine how children with food allergies are being managed at preschools and daycare centers in Yokohama. Methods : An anonymous questionnaire covering topics such as identification of children with food allergies, meals, and use of epinephrine auto-infectors (EpiPen®) was sent to all preschools and daycare centers in Yokohama. Results : The percentage of children with food allergies at both preschools and daycare centers was higher than that seen in similar previous studies. Fewer preschools than daycare centers were able to provide allergen-free or alternative meals and more preschools identified children with food allergies by means other than a physician’s diagnosis. Similar trends were seen for unlicensed daycare centers. Though more children at preschools had an EpiPen® prescription, fewer preschools than daycare centers were able to administer injections. Moreover, preschool staff tended to be less knowledgeable about food allergies compared with daycare center staff. Conclusions : Greater effort should be made to spread information on food allergies and expand the scope of food allergy management at childcare facilities, particularly at preschools and unlicensed daycare centers.
