Parental Perceptions of Fever in Children

Abstract

Background: Fever is a common medical problem in children which often prompts parents to seek immediate medical care. The objective of this study was to survey parents about their knowledge and attitude concerning fever in their children. Patients and Methods:The study involved the random selection of Saudi parents who brought their febrile children to the emergency rooms or walk-in clinics of four hospitals in Riyadh. Parents of 560 febrile children were interviewed using a standard questionnaire to obtain sociodemographic information and current knowledge of fever. Approximately 70% of the respondents were female, and the ages of the most were in the range of 20-40 years. More than 80% of the parents had two or more children. Results: More than 70% of parents demonstrated a poor understanding of the definition of fever, high fever, maximum temperature of untreated fever, and threshold temperature warranting antipyresis. About 25% of parents considered temperatures less than 38.0°C to be fever, another 25% did not know the definition of fever, 64% felt that temperatures of less than 40.0°C could be dangerous to a child, and 25% could not define high fever. Another 23% believed that if left untreated, temperatures could rise to 42.0°C or higher, but 37% could not provide an answer, and 62% did not know the minimum temperature for administering antipyretics. Approximately 95% of parents demonstrated undue fear of consequent body damage from fever, including convulsion, brain damage or stroke, coma, serious vague illness, blindness, and even death. Conclusion: Parental misconceptions about fever reflect the lack of active health education in our community. Health professionals have apparently not done enough to educate parents on the condition of fever and its consequences, a common problem.

Parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practice in childhood fever: an internet-based survey

“…Previous studies, performed in acute care settings in secondary care, showed a range of 44-84% of parents not knowing the correct definition of fever (>38˚C). 6,[14][15][16] Generally, it is known that parents' knowledge about fever and antipyretics is poor. 17 This is in line with the present finding that almost one in three of the parents thought that every child with a fever needs to be treated with paracetamol or antibiotics.…”

Awareness of parents of children with fever

“…1 Youssef et al also reported that parents have high fear of fever related complication and 35% parents believed that it can Cause brain injury. 6 This was attributed to the facts that in their study majority of parents had more than 2 children and were of more than 30 year of age.…”

“…This difference might be due low level of illiteracy among the mothers in studied population of Arab. 6 In 1998 in United Kingdom Blumenthal surveyed 392 parents. He found that 30% of parents could not define normal temperature.…”

“…7 However, it is important for parents to know as to when a child with a fever needs to be evaluated by a healthcare provider, when fever should be treated, and when it is reasonable to observe the child without treating the fever. 6 Many parents administer antipyretics even when there is minimal or no fever, because they are concerned that the child must maintain a "normal" temperature. 8 Harmful effects of fever alone are rare and are found mainly in very ill and compromised children or in children with fever persisting for more than 5 days, high core temperature (> 39°C) and fever in an infant less than 1 ~ 2 months of age or when it is associated with signs of severe underlying disease.…”

“…8 Harmful effects of fever alone are rare and are found mainly in very ill and compromised children or in children with fever persisting for more than 5 days, high core temperature (> 39°C) and fever in an infant less than 1 ~ 2 months of age or when it is associated with signs of severe underlying disease. 6 Fever may be useful as a defence mechanism as the body's immune response can be strengthened at higher temperatures; however, there are arguments for and against the usefulness of fever, and the issue is controversial. 9 With the exception of very high temperatures, treatment to reduce fever is often not necessary.…”