Parent-focused program to help remove penicillin allergy labels in kids
Official title: Refinement and Testing of a Parent Intervention to Support Penicillin Allergy Delabeling in Pediatric Primary Care Settings
Funded at University of Connecticut Storrs · NIH-11353896 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A parent-friendly web tool helps families and their child’s pediatrician review and safely remove incorrect penicillin allergy labels.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Connecticut Storrs NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Storrs-Mansfield, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $262,267 |
| NIH project number | 1R21AI199595-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11353896 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children aged 0-11 with a reported penicillin allergy and their parents who visit participating pediatric primary care clinics.
✕Less likely to help
Some families may not choose to pursue delabeling or may not respond to the web-based tool.
What this research studies
This project aims to help children 0-11 years old who have been labeled penicillin-allergic by providing a user-centered, web-based intervention called PEN-PAL to educate parents and support discussions with primary care providers. Using behavior-change principles and a collaborative advisory board, the team designs and tests a child-appropriate approach to guide conversations about penicillin allergy evaluation and potential delabeling. The study focuses on pediatric primary care settings and plans to pilot the intervention to see if it increases engagement in allergy evaluation and safe delabeling. Results could reduce unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use and improve antibiotic prescribing for kids.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the intervention could help many children receive first-line penicillin when appropriate, lowering costs and reducing antibiotic resistance.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows that informing parents increases discussion with clinicians and interest in evaluation for delabeling, though uptake varies.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Connecticut Storrs
Storrs-Mansfield, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Carter, Eileen Juliana — University of Connecticut Storrs
- Study coordinator: Carter, Eileen Juliana
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.