Analysis of the perceptions, knowledge and attitudes of parents towards fever in children: A systematic review with a qualitative meta‐synthesis

Abstract

Fever is defined by some authors as an increase in body temperature above the normal daily variation (Sahm et al., 2016). It is the body's natural response when the immune system is activated and fighting an infection (Villarejo-Rodríguez & Rodríguez-Martín, 2019). It occurs whenever the host generates pyrogenic substances that raise the hypothalamic set point by elevating body temperature and creating a hostile environment for germs attacking the body. Fever is distinct from hyperthermia in that it is a controlled process that does not exceed potentially lethal temperatures (Urbane et al., 2019). It indicates that the body is protecting against invading pathogens via

Diagnostic Value of Clinical Presentation, Parental Concern, and Clinician’s Non-Analytical Reasoning in Identifying Serious Bacterial Infections in Febrile Children. Doctoral Thesis

“…Another misconception suggests that, unless medication is given, the body temperature can increase to uncontrollable hights such as 43.3 °C [283,284]. These irrational beliefs, also labelled as "fever phobia" [42], have been observed in parents of various socioeconomic and education levels and in different parts of the world [46,50,282,285]. The misconceptions about fever have remained relatively unchanged throughout the last four decades, despite decline in childhood mortality due to illness, and availability of evidencebased materials for guidance for management of fever [44,47,282].…”

“…Parental anxiety over febrile illness in their child often lead to aggressive management strategies, such as frequent temperature measurements, overuse of medication, and application of non-evidence-based practices such as cold sponging, rubbing the child with alcohol, etc [43,46,273,277,281,283]. In addition, concern about the child's fever leads to unwarranted use of emergency healthcare services [48,286].…”

“…While it may be the case that the main reason behind parental concerns is the seriousness of the child's condition, lack of understanding of the role of fever during an infection, or unfounded fear of its effects also plays a significant role. "Fever phobia" by parents, first described decades ago [42], is still present nowadays despite widely available information on proper management of fever in children [43][44][45][46][47], and one of the main causes of non-urgent visits to ED [45,48]. Recognition of this anxiety and exploration of the triggers for it is the key for improvement of communication with the caregivers, and would enable clinicians to construct educational measures to reduce the concern raised by fever itself and empower parents to manage their child's fever properly and with confidence [47,49,50].…”

Klīnisko pazīmju kopuma, vecāku un ārstu intuitīvā novērtējuma nozīme smagu bakteriālu infekciju diagnostikā bērniem ar drudzi. Promocijas darba kopsavilkums

“…Lai gan vecāku bažu iemesls var būt bērna stāvokļa nopietnība, tās var veicināt arī nepilnīga izpratne par drudža lomu infekciozas dabas saslimšanā, kā arī nepamatotas bailes par drudža negatīvu ietekmi uz bērna organismu. Vecākiem raksturīgā "drudža fobija", kas pirmo reizi aprakstīta pirms vairākām desmitgadēm [41], vēl joprojām novērojama arī mūsdienās, par spīti plaši pieejamai informācijai par bērnu ar drudzi pareizu aprūpi [42][43][44][45][46], un tā ir pamatā nozīmīgam daudzumam nepamatoto Neatliekamās palīdzības nodaļu apmeklējumu [44,47]. Šo nepamatoto baiļu un to veicinošo faktoru atpazīšanai ir būtiska loma komunikācijas ar vecākiem uzlabošanai, un tā palīdzētu klīnicistiem izstrādāt atbilstošu pacientu un vecāku izglītošanas stratēģiju, tādējādi ne tikai mazinot vecāku bažas, bet arī radot viņos pārliecību par savām spējām pareizi aprūpēt bērnu [46,48,49].…”

Diagnostic Value of Clinical Presentation, Parental Concern, and Clinician’s Non-Analytical Reasoning in Identifying Serious Bacterial Infections in Febrile Children. Summary of the Doctoral Thesis

“…While it may be the case that the main reason behind parental concerns is the seriousness of the child's condition, lack of understanding of the role of fever during an infection, or unfounded fear of its effects also plays a significant role. "Fever phobia" by parents, first described decades ago [41], is still present nowadays despite widely available information on proper management of fever in children [42][43][44][45][46], and one of the main causes of non-urgent visits to ED [44,47]. Recognition of this anxiety and exploration of the triggers for it is the key for improvement of communication with the caregivers, and would enable clinicians to construct educational measures to reduce the concern raised by fever itself and empower parents to manage their child's fever properly and with confidence [46,48,49].…”