Qualitative Interviews to Understand Health Care Providers’ Experiences of Prescribing Licensed Peanut Oral Immunotherapy

Authors

Aikaterini Anagnostou
Claire Lawrence
Stephen A Tilles
Susan Laubach
Sarah M Donelson
Mohamed Yassine
Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn

Publication Date

8-8-2022

Journal

BMC Research Notes

DOI

10.1186/s13104-022-06161-6

PMID

35941597

PMCID

PMC9358114

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

8-8-2022

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Administration, Oral, Allergens, Arachis, COVID-19, Desensitization, Immunologic, Health Personnel, Humans, Immunologic Factors, Pandemics, Peanut Hypersensitivity, United States, Oral immunotherapy, Food allergy treatment, Peanut allergy, Peanut oral immunotherapy, Desensitization, Palforzia

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This research sought to explore health care providers' (HCPs) experiences of delivering the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission (EC) approved peanut oral immunotherapy (peanut OIT; Palforzia). Semi-structured qualitative interviews with HCPs who had initiated treatment with ≥ 3 patients in the first nine months following FDA approval sought to identify challenges faced and successful implementation strategies.

RESULTS: Eight allergists and three nurse practitioners from eight sites based in the United States participated. The HCPs included in this research were motivated to implement this novel treatment, however, entered the process with some reservations. HCPs described how successful implementation of peanut OIT requires them to be thoughtful about their clinic's abilities to integrate complex, time-consuming treatments into their daily practice. Prior experience of OIT was deemed beneficial, but not essential for implementation and learning from others' experience was suggested as a way of helping new prescribers overcome perceived and actual implementation challenges. Delivering licensed peanut OIT during the COVID-19 pandemic posed both challenges and unexpected opportunities for implementation. The experiences described have the potential to benefit the wider allergy community by providing practical solutions, successful implementation strategies and opportunities to enhance training and resources.