Fears of fever and fever management in Turkish families [Türk ailelerinin ateş yönetimi i·le i·lgili bilinç düzeyi ve korkulari]
Küçük Resim Yok
Tarih
2009
Yazarlar
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Özet
Objective: Fever is one of the most common reasons for parents to bring their children to the emergency departments. Most parents believe that fever is not a sign of illness, they have numerous misconceptions about it as well as its management.The objectives of this study were to explore knowledge and management of childhood fever and to evaluate factors associated with correctly identifying a temperature which is within the normal range and one which is a fever. Methods: Between January and July 2008, a crosssectional 30-item questionnaire was distributed to caregivers whose children were enrolled in an urban hospital-based pediatric clinic in Ege University Hosoital, Izmir. This questionnaire was conducted in a division of the emergency and ambulatory pediatrics department of Ege University School of Medicine. We included all parents who approached for examination regardless of the chief complaint. All parents were asked about definition of fever, concerns about fever, and fever management. Additional information including home fever reduction techniques, frequency of temperature monitoring was also sought. Results: A total of 200 parents agreed to join the study and were interviewed. Approximately half of the participitants had completed highschool and college. Of the parents surveyed, 85%stated that they owned a thermometer and 70%preferred the axillarymethod of temperature measurement. Forty precent of caregivers believed their children had a fever if the temperature was between 30-37 C and half of them would give medicines for management. According to 73%of responders, if the fever remained untreated febrile seizure, %18 brain damage could occur. For 45%of caregivers the 1st choice of medicine was acetaminophen, and ibuprofen for 40%. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that numerous misconceptions exist regarding fever and its role in illness among well educated caregivers. Providing parents with a thermometer and educating them about its proper use may lead to an increase in appropriate monitoring and medical treatment of the febrile child.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
Fever, Knowledge
Kaynak
Cocuk Enfeksiyon Dergisi
WoS Q Değeri
Scopus Q Değeri
Q4
Cilt
3
Sayı
4
