Parents' perspectives to childhood fever: Comparison of culturally diverse populations

Erkek, Nilgün; Şenel, Saliha; Şahin, Murat; Özgür, Özlem; Karacan, Can Demir

doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2010.01795.x

Cited by 28 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…These results suggest that parental education may have a positive influencing factor on the approach to fever and antipyretic usage, as shown in previous studies [12,33]. However, parents with more children were less likely to consider fever to be beneficial, and more likely to take a child to the hospital for a temperature of < 38°C (100.4°F).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

A current analysis of caregivers’ approaches to fever and antipyretic usage

Polat

Kara

Tezer

et al. 2014

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: The aim of this survey was to investigate the current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of febrile children's caregivers about fever, antipyretic usage, and temperature measurement methods in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: A 41-item questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of febrile children's caregivers in face-to-face interviews by two research assistants from January 2012 through June 2012 in an urban region of Turkey. Results: A total of 1,032 caregivers completed the interview. Approximately one-third of caregivers considered a temperature of less than 37.8°C (100°F) to be a fever, and 13% of all respondents would give antipyretics for a body temperature ≤ 37.8°C. Furthermore, 76% of parents would wake their children from sleep to administer antipyretics. Although a high proportion (89.5%) of respondents believed that fever had harmful effects, 10.5% considered fever to be beneficial. Alternating use of acetaminophen and ibuprofen (44%) and giving antipyretics routinely (71%) before and after immunizations were common parental practices and generally advised by pediatricians. Parents with higher levels of education were more likely to consider fever to be beneficial and to treat fever with antipyretics, and less likely to seek medical attention for mild fever. Most caregivers stated that they were unsure about the right site (90%) and thermometer type (95%) for temperature measurement. Conclusions: Persistent fever anxiety and excessive antipyretic usage may be heightened by the lack of knowledge regarding accurate temperature measurement methods with digital thermometers in our population. Parental education may positively affect the approach to fever and antipyretic usage.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

A current analysis of caregivers’ approaches to fever and antipyretic usage

Polat

Kara

Tezer

et al. 2014

J Infect Dev Ctries

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“…This is common in other studies as well. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In spite of the numerous studies demonstrating fever phobia, little progress has been made in reducing unrealistic fears and focusing parents' concerns to where they are most appropriate. This may be, at least in part, because health care providers also commonly have unrealistic fears concerning fever.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Some of this fear is productive. Concerns regarding dehydration and signs that might indicate serious underlying illness are reasonable and important; however, a substantial proportion of parents in our study held unrealistic fears about the consequences of fever and most monitored and treated fever aggressively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several items regarding feared outcomes and treatment practices were modeled after questions from Schmitt' s 1980 survey 1 to facilitate comparison with this and other studies that have used these questions. [1][2][3][4]6,9,11 Further questions were developed to explore other areas of interest related to parental beliefs, behaviors, expectations, and satisfaction. Included questions utilized multiplechoice, Likert scale, or open-ended response formats.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beginning with a survey in 1980, researchers have documented significant degrees of "fever phobia" in parents from numerous countries. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] These fears have contributed to making fever the most common reason for parents to bring their children to the emergency department (ED). 13 Previous studies have demonstrated that parents use a combination of lay beliefs and their interpretation of medical knowledge to assess the welfare of their child during illness.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Beliefs and Expectations of Canadian Parents Who Bring Febrile Children for Medical Care

et al. 2012

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Fever phobia is a ubiquitous problem throughout the world. As a result, fever is pharmacologically overtreated, and medical attention is frequently sought by worried parents. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Most Canadian parents fear their child' s fever, resulting in aggressive surveillance and treatment. Parents expect information about fever etiology and how to care for their ill child. Few parents expect antibiotics and satisfaction with care is high. abstract OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this survey was to study the beliefs, expectations, and satisfaction of Canadian parents regarding fever and the treatment of their febrile children. METHODS:A survey was developed exploring caregiver beliefs and treatment strategies, as well as expectations and satisfaction with medical care. Some items were modeled after previous studies to allow comparison. Caregivers with febrile children were recruited from 2005 to 2007 at 3 urgent care centers and emergency departments in Edmonton, Canada: a pediatric emergency department (n = 376), an urban urgent care center (n = 227), and a suburban urgent care clinic (n = 173). RESULTS:High and rapidly rising temperature, as well as physical symptoms associated with fever, caused concern in most parents surveyed. Seventy-four percent of parents felt that the elevated temperature from fever was dangerous and 90.3% always try to treat it. Forty degrees Celsius was the most commonly sited threshold for danger. Identifying the cause (80.6%) and seriousness (87.4%) of fever were the most common stressors identified. Caregivers expected to receive information about the child' s illness and appropriate treatment. The parents most often wanted information about febrile seizures and the potential dangers of febrile illness. Only 16.7% of caregivers expected antibiotics. Nearly 92% of subjects were usually satisfied with medical care.CONCLUSIONS: Fever phobia continues to be a significant issue for Canadian parents. As a result, they treat fever aggressively and often seek medical attention. Good communication is important for medical staff caring for febrile children and typically leads to satisfied parents.

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Assessment of knowledge and practices of parents regarding childhood fever management in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hew

Blebil

Dujaili

et al. 2018

Drugs Ther Perspect

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Parents' perspectives to childhood fever: Comparison of culturally diverse populations

Abstract: Parental education about 'fever in childhood' in our population may positively effect parental knowledge and approach to fever. However, parental education may not be effective in removing parental fear of fever in our population.

Cited by 28 publications

References 24 publications

A current analysis of caregivers’ approaches to fever and antipyretic usage

A current analysis of caregivers’ approaches to fever and antipyretic usage

Beliefs and Expectations of Canadian Parents Who Bring Febrile Children for Medical Care

Assessment of knowledge and practices of parents regarding childhood fever management in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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