2021 Volume 35 Issue 1 Pages 94-100
Background: The prevalence of childhood allergies is increasing, and although it is important to provide health guidance for allergic diseases from early infancy, the actual state of such guidance remains unknown. Purpose and Methods: To examine the status of such health guidance in Japan, we distributed questionnaires to 420 randomly selected municipal institutions throughout Japan. Results: Responses were obtained from 290 institutions. Health guidance for allergic diseases was provided at 80.7% of institutions; however, 70.1% provided guidance without guidelines for health guidance. Among those institutions providing guidance, 87.2% obtained knowledge about allergic diseases from books and magazines and only 24.8% responded that a physician could be consulted. Institutions providing guidance about allergic diseases to pregnant women accounted for 43.2%. Conclusions: At present, the methods and details regarding health guidance about childhood allergies are determined by each individual municipality. The results of our study underscore the need for a standardized guidance manual.
