Childhood fever management by parents in Malta : an exploratory survey

Abstract

Background: Fever is a common ailment in children which every parent or caregiver will at some point have to manage. Literature has reported that parents sometimes misdiagnose fever, and frequently administer antipyretics despite there being no clinical indication to do so. Parents also tend to become overly anxious about their child when they are febrile. Furthermore, some studies found that background factors such as a parent’s level of education, can influence their fever management behaviour. Despite the high prevalence, and high number of consultations due to fever, no data about this is available locally. Objectives: To gather data about parents’ fever management practices in Malta and compare the findings to various background factors. Design: A quantitative, explorative cross-sectional design was selected. The chosen method of data collection was paper-based questionnaires distributed around the paediatric departments in Malta’s acute hospital Mater Dei. A total of 134 questionnaires were collected, yielding a margin of error of 8.2 with a 95% degree of confidence. Participants: Parents or guardians of children aged 6 months – 5 years. Results: The findings showed that most parents regard a temperature of over 37.5ºC as fever. At this point, most parents administer antipyretics without considering other indications of illness. A high frequency of both evidence-based, and non-evidence-based behaviours was reported by parents. Paediatricians were found to be the most popular 2.1referent for assistance in fever management. When statistical tests were conducted, associations were detected between a parent’s level of education and their knowledge about fever. The tests also found having a child with a chronic illness and a parents’ level of perceived control over fever could be linked. Finally, parents whose children or family members suffer from febrile seizures reported feeling less confident in managing fever, as were parents who were in hospital with a febrile child at the time of data collection. Conclusion and Implications: Parents need to be educated about evidence-based fever management practices, and about the indications for antipyretic administration. Since paediatricians were reported to be the most trusted source, and because they are accessible to parents both in the public and private health sector, they should deliver the appropriate information to parents, ideally in written format.