Virtual Food Allergy Immunotherapy pilot program at BC Children’s Hospital
PURPOSE
Kids with severe food allergies and their families live with overwhelming anxiety that drastically affects their daily lives. The Virtual Food Allergy Immunotherapy pilot program at BC Children’s Hospital will develop and study the safety and benefits of the first nurse-supported virtual platform for treating food allergies. This program will increase access to food immunotherapy treatment for children in every corner of British Columbia – bringing critical treatment to kids in the comfort of their home, and making a significant and positive difference in their lives today and every day in the future.
INTENDED RESULTS
a. Increased access to food immunotherapy by offering virtual FAIT, which does not require clinical space. This will lead to shorter waiting lists overall, remove the need for travel for patients living in remote communities, and increase access to any high-risk patients who require in-person allergy appointments.
b. Reduced costs to the healthcare system by transitioning from in-person to virtual care. Additionally, reduced costs by having research nurses carry out the routine build-up visits, allowing allergists to focus their expertise and time on assessing patients at baseline and post-treatment as well as providing on-call coverage and support for nurses. Build-up visits are an ideal nurse-delegated task.
c. Increased safety by offering sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) to older children and adolescents, which carries a low or negligible risk of severe reaction.
d. Improved quality of life and reduced anxiety for patients and families long-term through completion of immunotherapy, by providing protection from accidental reactions in the community.
e. Creation of a framework for delivering virtual nurse-supported FAIT which can be replicated across the province, the country, and around the world, which includes a personalized medicine approach.
f. Number of research participants treated for the 3-year project: 600
SUPPORT OUR WORK
Your support for expanding food allergy treatment and research for BC children, teens, and their families is changing lives! To continue supporting our work, please consider donating to our cause on this fundraising page. For more information about our research and FAIT program, visit our website: www.bcchr.ca/foodallergy or contact our team at foodimmunotherapy@bcchr.ca.
