Lauren Herlihy, DNP, RN, pediatric immunologist and IHQI scholar, has developed a clinical decision support (CDS) toolkit for early peanut introduction in infants to prevent peanut allergy. The toolkit is now ready for adoption by interested physicians at UNC Health.
After creating the toolkit, Herlihy piloted it in three outpatient pediatric clinics, with a goal of increasing caregiver reported peanut consumption at 6, 9, and 12-month well-child checks from 23% to 65% by September 30. Lauren presented her results at the IHQI Improvement Scholars and Fellows Symposium on October 22 during Quality Week.
Now, she is making her toolkit available to all interested physicians. You can access the toolkit and all related materials at the following link: https://www.med.unc.edu/ihqi/early-peanut-introduction-in-infants-to-prevent-peanut-allergy/ and you can email Lauren with questions at: lherlihy@unc.edu. This initiative has seen much success and the team would like to especially thank our project champions from the 3 outpatient pediatric clinics, including Drs. Priyanka Rao, Laura Gay, and Elizabeth Blyth.