Paediatricians are often the first point of contact for children in Primary Care (PC). There are many published papers regarding allergy management in PC but only one has specifically assessed the role of Primary Care Paediatricians (PCPs) and this was limited to immunotherapy[1]. This limited data, along with the results of a pilot study published in January 2023 in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pai.13907), suggest that there is a need for a large-scale study to uncover the educational needs of generalist paediatricians (whether in primary or specialist care).

As diagnosis and management of allergic diseases are in constant evolution, and wanting to update information about the current educational needs of European PCPs, the EAACI Allergy Educational Needs in PCPs Task Force (EAACI-PCPs-TF) have invited members of PCP Scientific Societies to participate in a survey from 1 February 2023 until 30 March 2023, in five languages (English, Italian, Spanish, French and German).

With this new data, the EAACI-PCPs-TF will complete a strategy proposal for PC and submit a call to action to address the knowledge and skills deficits identified amongst primary healthcare providers, in order to improve outcomes.

This survey represents the first step underlying any training program for physicians who will be seeing patients with allergy. Ultimately, this study should permit the planning of a training program for any physician who cares for patients with allergic conditions, as a part of general professional training to reinforce appropriate management including referral to specialist care.

We believe that a unified, worldwide approach to allergy education and training, and the harmonisation of undergraduate education, has the potential to significantly improve knowledge, skills and practice, and improve the quality and consistency of patient care.

In addition, we propose that a network of collaboration across healthcare systems be established, to improve the prevention, management, diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases in our areas and make systems more sustainable and accessible, with greater coverage for citizens[2].

It is also evident that if the role of PC providers in the diagnosis and management of allergic disease is to be strengthened, good communication between primary and specialist care is critical, and scientific societies are encouraged to strengthen their own collaboration with PC colleagues and support their training needs.

Certainly, we believe that, through teaching activities such as those already offered on EAACI’s recently launched e-learning platform, we can improve the quality of PC practice and strengthen the role of PCPs in the diagnosis and management of allergic diseases.

Martha Cabrera. MD, PhD.
Task Force Chair

EAACI-PCPs-TF

• Landi M, Meglio P, Praitano E, Lombardi C, Passalacqua G, Canonica GW. The perception of allergen-specific immunotherapy among pediatricians in the Primary Care setting. Clin Mol Allergy 2015;13(1):1–5.
• Vassilopoulou E, Skypala I, Feketea G, Gawlik R, Dunn Galvin A, Meyer R, Pitsios C, Maria Pop R, Ryan D, Said M, Scheire S. A multi‐disciplinary approach to the diagnosis and management of allergic diseases: An EAACI Task Force. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 2022 Jan;33(1):e13692.