Factors Affecting Daycare Center Teachers’ Management of Childhood Fever

Abstract

Background: Guidelines for the management of fever in children have been recently published, however "fever phobia" is still spreading. To provide information which may sustain educational interventions tailored to our population we investigated the parental and medical knowledge and management of fever in preschool children. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to a convenient sample of Italian parents and paediatricians. The questionnaire elicited information about definition and cause of fever, concerns about fever, method of temperature measurement, and treatment modalities. Results: Overall, 388 parents and 480 paediatricians were interviewed. All the parents believed that fever could cause at least one harmful effect and 89.9% (n = 349) believed that, if left untreated, it can cause brain damage or seizures. Parents used multiple resources to obtain information about fever but 67.8% (n = 264) considered paediatricians as their primary resource. Several wrong behaviours were found in the same proportions among parents and paediatricians: 78.5% of paediatricians (n = 377) and 77.8% of parents (n = 302) used physical method to reduce fever (P = 0.867); 27.0% of paediatricians (n = 103) and 21.4% (n = 83) of parents declared to alternate ibuprofen and acetaminophen (P = 0.953). Differently, 73.1% (n = 351) of paediatricians preferred oral to rectal administration of antipyretics compared to 48.7% (n = 190) of parents (P < 0.0001). Worrisomely, 1.4% of paediatricians and 1.2% of parents declared to use acetylsalicylic acid or steroids as second-choice antipyretics (P = 0.937) and 6.7% (n = 26) of parents declared to use table-or teaspoons for determining the dose of drug. Conclusions: Paediatricians' attitudes greatly influence the parental behaviours and beliefs. Implementation of educational programs regarding the management of the febrile child are needed in our setting.

Autoconfiança no manejo das intercorrências de saúde na escola: contribuições da simulação in situ

“…It was also identified that items that obtained the lowest difference before and after educational activity mediated by the in situ simulation were the ones related to confidence in recognizing and managing a child with a fever, that is, teachers that already showed good self-confidence levels regarding care with fever before the activity. Such finding countered with the result found by an international study that sought to identify the knowledge, anxiety and management of fever among teachers of a daycare facility 39 , which identified high levels of anxiety when faced with a feverish child 39 .…”

Chronic diseases and illness in schools: Teachers’ confidence in helping students with intellectual disabilities

“…This finding contrasts with the findings of Park and Kim, who found that in Korea, teachers were concerned about dealing with fever. [ 34 ] The strong confidence of teachers in dealing with fever may refer to the fact that fever is a common illness, and therefore teachers are more familiar with treating fevers.…”

“…[ 31 ] Regarding fever management, Park and Kim found that teachers in daycare centers in Korea have a high level of concern about fever and how to deal with it. [ 34 ]…”