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Parental knowledge, beliefs and management of childhood fever in Australia: A nationwide survey
Author(s) -
Wilson Kiara M.,
Beggs Sean A.,
Zosky Graeme R.,
Bereznicki Luke R.,
Bereznicki Bonnie J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.622
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2710
pISSN - 0269-4727
DOI - 10.1111/jcpt.13000
Subject(s) - medicine , anxiety , affect (linguistics) , family medicine , fever of unknown origin , psychiatry , pediatrics , psychology , communication , radiology
Abstract What is known and objective Fever, one of the most common symptoms of illness experienced by children, often creates undue parental anxiety about the consequences of fever, which can lead to overtreatment. The full extent of this problem in Australia is not known. This study aimed to describe parents' knowledge, beliefs and perceptions about childhood fever and its management, and identify any predictors of the burden on parents when children are febrile. Methods This was a cross‐sectional web‐based survey of parents living in Australia. Parents with at least 1 child <6 years were recruited via Facebook. Demographic information, parental fever knowledge and beliefs and responses to the Parent Fever Management Scale, a measure of parental burden, were collected and analysed. Results and discussion Of the 12 179 parents who completed the survey, 42.0% knew that a temperature above 38°C constitutes a fever, with 33.4% underestimating the temperature of a fever. Parents believed that there were many harms associated with untreated fever, namely seizures (71.8%), dehydration (63.6%), serious illness (43.0%) and brain damage (36.8%). Phobic beliefs were more common among parents who underestimated the temperature of a fever. Identification of health professionals as a main information source about fever did not significantly improve knowledge or reduce fears. Up to 65.0% of respondents indicated that they practice non–evidence‐based strategies to reduce temperature. The belief that ‘every child with a fever should be treated with medication to lower temperature’ was the strongest predictor of parental burden ( ß = 0.245, P < 0.001). What is new and conclusion Poor parental knowledge and misconceptions surrounding fever and its management are still common among parents throughout Australia. Large‐scale, sustainable educational interventions are needed to dispel misconceptions and concerns about fever, encourage appropriate and safe care of febrile children.