Food Allergy

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Elaborate on the principles of managing food allergic reactions, including a detailed knowledge of nutrition management including avoidance and related issues.
• Critically evaluate the key clinical and nutritional aspects of food allergy, with particular reference to the diagnosis and clinical/nutritional management of a clinical case.
• Critically appraise primary, secondary and tertiary methods for prevention of food allergy.
• Discuss the immunological mechanisms involved in food allergic reactions and explain how these relate to clinical symptoms.
• Design educational literature for a patient with food allergy.
• Evaluate approaches to improve patient-centred care through consideration of cultural circumstances and potential barriers to care.

The syllabus has been divided in to six broad themes:

• Clinical and immunological basis of food allergy including IgE and non-IgE mediated diseases and the role of food allergy in eczema, airways disease, mechanisms of sensitisation, allergen structure and oral tolerance.
• Clinical understanding of non-immune mediated food reactions, as well as how to diagnose and manage these.
• Methods, limitations and interpretation of food allergy diagnostics by skin prick testing, specific IgE, component resolved diagnostics and food challenges.
• Principles of management of food allergic reactions including a detailed knowledge of appropriate nutritional management including avoidance, food labelling, resources and the use of nutritional supplementation as related to clinical scenarios.
• Clinical service delivery for food allergy in children and adolescents, including transition services.
• Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of allergic disease and the evidence for food desensitisation.

Teaching and learning methods

This online module is a blend of synchronous live and asynchronous recorded sessions and provides a flexible learning environment that gives you control over how, when and where you study. We strongly encourage you to plan your time so that you can attend our live teaching and make the most of being able to take part in rich discussions and interact with the teaching staff and your fellow students.

A variety of online learning and teaching methods will be adopted to promote the development of a wide range of skills Specialist lecturers from a range of academic and health care professional backgrounds will be used to ensure a breadth and depth of perspective is offered, giving a good balance between background theories and principles and practical management advice. In addition, by sharing their experience of living with allergy, patients will give an insight into their perspective, enabling you to develop your patient-centred approach.

As well as the formal live teaching and recorded sessions, we offer group online tutorials to support student learning while they are away from Southampton. There is also a guided immunology e-learning package with self-assessment available for students to take advantage of in their own time. The self-assessment is formative and automated feedback is provided.

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

4. Useful journals. • Allergy • Archives of Disease in Childhood • Clinical Experimental Allergy • Clinical and Translational Allergy • Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology • Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice • Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics • Paediatric Allergy and Immunology • Paediatrics

1. Talis reading list. Additional resources can be found on our Talis reading list which you can access from the module’s Blackboard site

2. e-Books. There are many e-books available from the University of Southampton library in both allergy and related academic subjects (e.g. reflection, study skills, communication skills). https://www-lib.soton.ac.uk/

3. Global Atlas of Allergy. EAACI have produced an online Global Atlas of Allergy. To access the atlas, visit http://www.eaaci.org/globalatlas/GlobalAtlasAllergy.pdf.

Textbooks

Holgate S, Church, M and Lichtenstein L (Eds) (2011). Allergy. Chapters 8 and 13. Elsevier Philadelphia PA (available as e-book).

Shaw V (Ed) (2020). Clinical Paediatric Dietetics. Blackwell (available as e-book).

Skypala I and Venter C (Eds) (2009). Food Hypersensitivity: Diagnosing and Managing Food Allergies and Intolerance. Oxford UK: Blackwell.

Leung D et al (Eds) (2016). Pediatric Allergy: principles and practice. Elsevier.

Assessment strategy

The assessment for the module provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes and to (1) demonstrate the depth and breadth of your knowledge of food allergy, along with (2) showing higher cognitive skills and your ability to make sound judgements. There is one assessed component which is based on a clinical case and includes integrated elements relevant to clinical practice. The pass mark for the module and all assessed components is 50%.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External