Knowledge and Attitude on Febrile Seizure among Mothers with Under-Five Children

Abstract

Background: Febrile seizures frequently occur in children under 5 years old and usually create fear and anxiety among parents. Poor understanding of febrile seizure among parents contributes to mismanagement of seizure. The objective of this study was to identify the knowledge and attitude on febrile seizure among mothers of under five children. Methods: This descriptive community-based survey comprised of 96 mothers with under 5 children who were chosen through randomization. This survey was, conducted in Hegarmanah Village, Jatinangor, West Java, Indonesia in October 2013. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using frequency analysis. Results: Fifty nine respondents (61%) considered that high fever in their children will result in seizure and 63 mothers (65%) stated that this condition was a life-threatening situation which could lead to brain damage (50%) and paralysis (50%). There were some respondents who would manage seizure by shaking (27%) or holding the child tightly during seizure (22%) and putting spoon into the children mouth (59%). Sixty respondents (62.5%) prevented febrile seizure by giving them coffee. Conclusions: Knowledge and attitude regarding febrile seizure is good, but the knowledge and attitude towards the outcome and what to do during febrile seizures occasion are still poor.

Knowledge of febrile convulsion among mothers attending the paediatric clinic of university of Uyo teaching hospital, Nigeria

“…Twenty-five (15.2%) respondents thought that febrile convulsion is due to evil spirit. This has been reported in other studies within and outside Nigeria [14][15][16][17][18]. Anigilaje et al reported that subjects attributed 'angry gods' (51.8%), evil spirit (49.0%), constipation (36.8%) and black blood (0.6%) to be causes of febrile convulsion [18].…”

“…Nyaledzigbor et al in a study in Ghana also reported that majority (70%) of the mothers believed that febrile convulsion occurs as a result of high fever [16]. Sahida et al also gave a similar (61%) report among mothers in Indonesia [17].…”

Assessment of Parental Quality of Life in Febrile Seizures Using Pediatric Quality of Live Inventory Parental Report

“…One study found that although knowledge and attitude regarding FS might be useful, the knowledge and attitude toward outcome and what to do during FS events are still low. 28 However, our study found that parents with higher education had a better QoL with their children. One plausible explanation is that parents who had higher education had a better understanding of the prognosis and tend to worry less.…”

Perceived Causes and Diagnosis of Febrile Convulsion in Selected Rural Contexts in Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

“…Febrile convulsion was attributed to social determinants of health speci cally poor sanitation, nutrition, and childcare practices. Poor environment during pregnancy for instance is a known determinant of febrile convulsion [20]. On nutrition, particularly phlegm accumulation, most mothers attributed the cause of FC to phlegm in Ghana [6].…”

“…Thus, the perceptions and beliefs about the causes, and by extension, diagnosis of all forms or types of illnesses are underpinned by these three main dimensions, or their constellations [18]. For instance, some local communities and people have the perceptions that diseases could be contracted from genetic factors [5,19], poor dietary practices and unacceptable social behaviour [20], and curses or witchcraft attacks [6,9]. From a theoretical perspective, the health belief model has been applied.…”