Empowering parents for evidence-based fever management: An integrative review

Abstract

Purpose Many parents of young, febrile children lack evidence‐based tools to manage fever (knowledge, skills, confidence, support), fear negative outcomes, and prioritize the reduction of fever over management of its source. This review examines the literature for evidence of factors that must be considered when designing effective fever management educational interventions for parents, especially those whose health literacy is low. Data sources A systematic search identified studies from 1980 to 2011 using the databases PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Review, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Medline Plus, Joanna Briggs Institute, and Google Scholar. Conclusions The most effective educational interventions are 1:1, multidimensional, structured, relevant, and reinforced over time. Parental culture, health literacy, knowledge deficits, and beliefs must be addressed by nurse practitioners (NPs) to maximize evidence‐based behaviors. Implications for practice Parents often strive to do what is best for their child but may become overly protective and anxious when managing their child's fever. NPs have a prime opportunity to improve parents’ fever management practices. An evidence‐based toolkit, created with respect for those who may have low health literacy, will give parents tangible tools to help them provide safer and less costly care for their febrile child.

Development and evaluation of a hospital discharge information package to empower parents in caring for a child with a fever

“…Also others noted that the ability of parents to manage a child’s illness is influenced by many factors, like experience, social circumstances and expectations, and their own knowledge and health 12 22. A recent review also described the importance of attitudes, beliefs and perceived control on the actual behaviour of seeking healthcare 23. These dynamics are in line with our results as reflected by the balance we presented in figure 3.…”

Fading confidence: A qualitative exploration of parents’ experiences caring for a febrile child

“…Furthermore, the usability of resources is influenced by both the content and the audience. Monsma et al () integrative review of education interventions to support parents found that Internet resources were mostly written above a grade nine reading level, thus limiting the audience that may benefit from such information. Parents with lower literacy skills and those whose first language is not English are immediately disadvantaged by such educational interventions.…”

“…For example, although some parents woke their child from sleep to administer antipyretics (which is a discouraged practice), the reasons for doing so are difficult to ascertain in quantitative studies. Similarly, an integrative review examining educational interventions to support parents’ management of paediatric fever did not include any qualitative sources, further adding to unanswered how and why questions related to the complexity of parents’ caregiving and child health decisions (Monsma et al, ). In addition, data from healthcare professionals were reported in combination with or as a proxy for parents, making it difficult to have a clear understanding of parents’ views.…”

Optimising decision making on illness absenteeism due to fever and common infections within childcare centres: development of a multicomponent intervention and study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial

“…Similarly, fever phobia is present in childcare staff and causes substantial illness absenteeism in children, work absenteeism among parents and healthcare service consultations by referring parents to the GP [2, 6, 13, 16, 17, 20, 33–37]. Despite the development of several educational interventions, fever phobia, misconceptions and unrealistic concerns are still present in parents, healthcare professionals and childcare staff [36, 38–40]. …”