A counseling video with pre- and posttesting and checklist for oral immunotherapy consent improves participant knowledge

BACKGROUND: The use of oral immunotherapy (OIT) for food allergies has been expanding in North America. Although families are interested in this therapeutic approach, misconceptions are common; therefore, education of these families is essential before obtaining informed consent. OBJECTIVE: To improve parent and patient knowledge about OIT by investigating the use of a counseling video (CV) and checklist. METHODS: This retrospective review was conducted in a pediatric outpatient clinic. After consultation and review of the information package, 467 parents and patients (>12 years old) performed pre- and posttests in conjunction with a CV during a checklist-based 2-hour counseling session for OIT. RESULTS: The evaluation of pre- and posttest performance suggested an improvement in the ability of patients to answer relevant questions pertaining to OIT. This was statistically significant for all groups, including mothers, fathers, and children (P < .001). Mothers performed better than fathers and patients in mean number of correct responses in both pre- and posttest scores and in posttest scores after adjustment for pretest scores. Fathers performed better than patients in both pre- and posttest scores but not on posttest scores after adjustment for pretest scores. A checklist-based format resulted in 100% of all major topics being discussed in a 1-hour discussion. Reported satisfaction was high among the participants. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to evaluate the use of a CV in conjunction with pre- and posttesting to educate families about the key principles of OIT. We suggest that as part of extensive counseling for OIT, an educational video is beneficial in a pediatric outpatient clinic.