O2126: CATCH-On: A Shot to Live Project Expansion

Background: CATCH-On was launched by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) program to help pediatricians connect with communities through a “ready-to-go” project. CATCH-On mentors pediatricians in implementing a successful CATCH project. A Shot to Live (ASTL), CATCH resident project developed by Dr. Benjamin Wright, trained staff at 181 Utah schools to recognize and manage anaphylaxis. CATCH-On: ASTL adapted the original project to demonstrate feasibility of using an online Quality Improvement (QI) platform that satisfies American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements to replicate children’s health benefits in multiple communities.

Methods: CATCH-On: ASTL layers ASTL-specific materials onto a CATCH-On framework with CATCH principles for community collaboration. The framework helps pediatricians assemble stakeholders, assess needs, develop plans, and implement and evaluate projects. With funding from the AAP Friends of the Children Fund, content was built in the AAP Quality Information Data Aggregator platform. From April-December 2022, 16 pediatricians on 10 pediatrician/school teams in 8 states performed 3 chart review cycles. Teams met 3-4 times throughout the project to address gaps in patient/student files, train school staff to recognize and treat anaphylaxis, and develop agreements allowing pediatricians to order undesignated epinephrine for schools. School partners tracked anaphylaxis and epinephrine access data. CATCH collaborated with the Council on School Health and Section on Allergy and Immunology (SOAI) to host 4 instructional webinars and mentoring/coaching calls. Pediatricians completing all project phases were eligible for ABP MOC Part 4 credit.

Results: Four pediatrician/school teams completed all 3 project data cycles; 3 teams completed 2 data cycles. Pediatricians noted increases of 27% in school epinephrine prescriptions, 20% in self-carry assessment communicated to schools, and 15% in school emergency plans. Over 10 Kindergarten-12th grade schools with 296-4184 students participated. Schools noted increases of nearly 20% in filed student emergency plans, and 30-40% for primary care physician noted in student files. School nurses/personnel reported increased professional satisfaction and expanded visibility within schools/communities. Pediatricians described progressive school partnership strengthening, increased confidence/involvement in developing community-based projects, opportunities for increased communication with schools on other child health issues (e.g., concussions and school avoidance), enhanced pediatrician visibility in communities, and expanded community capacity to impact child health. Three pediatricians noted that without this project, they were unlikely to work with their community; 4 noted they expected their projects to continue.

Conclusion: CATCH-On: ASTL improved children’s access to life-saving epinephrine in schools. Pediatrician and school participants benefited professionally from their involvement. The CATCH-On framework demonstrates a feasible mentoring and QI-process model that adapts a successful CATCH project and meets ABP MOC requirements, which can vastly expand CATCH’s national impact on children’s health and well-being.