Abstract：OBJECTIVE: It is widely agreed that comprehensive parental advice and education is a cornerstone of allergic disease management. This study was designed to investigate the parental cognition condition on allergic diseases and information needs, so that medical staff can carry on related education and prevention work for children's parents more efficiently. METHODS: A total of 357 parents from the department of child health care were randomly enrolled. A cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-designed questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis, logistic regression model and t test were used to analyze the survey results. RESULTS: Three hundred and fifty (98.0%) effective responses were received to the questionnaires. Fifty-six percent of the parents did not know that asthma was one of the stages in an allergic disease. Seventy-two percent of the parents did not know the fact that allergic disease could manifest as diarrhea. The majority of the parents (70.9%) thought that the most common food leading to allergy was seafood, and 37.4% of parents thought that if a child was allergic to some food, then he or she should not eat the food for life. Almost all of the parents (97.7%) required information on allergic diseases and 53% of the parents wanted to understand clinical manifestations of allergic diseases. There were statistical significances in the needs to information on clinical manifestations of allergic diseases among parents with different education levels (OR=2.042, P<0.05). The need for knowledge of allergic diseases in parents with an allergic disease or an allergic family history were different from the parents without (OR=8.045, P<0.05). Listening to lectures and receiving education handbooks on allergic diseases from doctors or health care workers were regarded as essential by parents. CONCLUSIONS: Parental knowledge about allergic diseases is limited, and some of the knowledge is wrong. The parents want much information about allergic diseases. It is necessary to provide education and prevention programs on allergic diseases for parents through various ways.［Chin J Contemp Pediatr, 2009, 11 (9):725-728］
［1］Greer FR, Sicherer SH, Burks AW. Effects of early nutritional interventions on the development of atopic disease in infants and children: the role of maternal dietary restriction, breastfeeding, timing of introduction of complementary foods, and hydrolyzed formulas ［J］.Pediatrics, 2008, 121(1):183-191.
［2］Warner JO, Kaliner MA, Crisci CD, Del Giacco S, Frew AJ, Liu GH, et al．Allergy practice worldwide：a report by the World Allergy Organization Specialty and Training Council［J］．Int Arch Allergy Immunol, 2006, 139(2):166-174.
［3］Hahn EL, Bacharier LB. The atopic march:the pattern of allergic disease development in childhood［J］．Immunol Allergy Clin Noth Am, 2005, 25(2):231-246.
［4］Osterballe M, Hansen TK, Mortz CG, Host A, Bindslev-Jensen C. The prevalence of food hypersensitivity in an unselected population of children and adults［J］. Pediatr Allergy Immunol, 2005, 16(7):567-573.
［5］Dean T, Venter C, Pereira B, Arshad SH, Grundy J, Clayton CB. Patterns of sensitization to food and aeroallergens in the first 3 years of life［J］.J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2007, 120(5):1166-1171.
［6］Hu W, Grbich C, Kemp A. Parental food allergy information needs: a qualitative study［J］.Arch Dis Child, 2007, 92(9):771-775.
