Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul 1:7:2333794X20931613.
doi: 10.1177/2333794X20931613. eCollection 2020.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Management of Childhood Fever Among Saudi Parents

Shalam Mohamed Hussain  1 , Osama Al-Wutayd  2 , Ahmed Hamad Aldosary  2 , Abdullah Al-Nafeesah  3 , Ashwaq AlE'ed  4 , Modhi Saleh Alyahya  5 , Anfal Saleh Alfeneekh  6 , Sirin Ahmed AlKadi  7 , Ghaida Abdulrahman Alghasham  7 , Ghadah Abdulaziz Aloyaidi  7
Affiliations

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Management of Childhood Fever Among Saudi Parents

Shalam Mohamed Hussain et al. Glob Pediatr Health. .

Abstract

Fever is considered as a frequent symptom in childhood and is the cause of almost 65% to 70% of pediatric visits. Saudi Arabia has about 10% of child population (under 4 years of age), imposing a high burden of childhood illnesses including fever. A total of 1700 questionnaires were distributed to Saudi parents with children visiting pediatric clinic. Most of the participants were mothers (77.4%). A temperature of 38.0 °C was defined fever by 42% of participants. The majority of parents (80%) believed seizure is the consequence of untreated high fever. A total of 72.5% indicated that 40.7 to 43.20°C is the highest temperature that can be reached if untreated. There was a statistically significant relationship between mothers and fathers for overall knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. This study indicates that numerous misconceptions still persist regarding fever as more than 90% of parents demonstrated undue fear of consequent body damage from fever and also believed antibiotics can reduce high temperature.

Keywords: antipyretics; fever; knowledge; pediatrics; qassim; temperature.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Bertille N, Fournier-Charrière E, Pons G, Chalumeau M. Managing fever in children: a national survey of parents’ knowledge and practices in France. PLoS One. 2013;8:e83469. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083469 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Walsh A, Edwards H, Fraser J. Attitudes and subjective norms: determinants of parents’ intentions to reduce childhood fever with medications. Health Educ Res. 2009;24:531-545. - PubMed
    1. Athamneh L, El-Mughrabi M, Athamneh M, Essien EJ, Abughosh S, James E. Parents’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of childhood fever management in Jordan: a cross-sectional study. J Appl Res Child. 2014;5:8 http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol5/iss1/8
    1. Chiappini E, Bortone B, Galli L, de Martino M. Guidelines for the symptomatic management of fever in children: systematic review of the literature and quality appraisal with AGREE II. BMJ Open. 2017;7:e015404. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Eissa YA, Al-Sanie AM, Al-Alola SA, et al. Parental perceptions of fever in children. Ann Saudi Med. 2000;20:202-205. http://www.annsaudimed.net/index.php/vol20/vol20iss3-4/3490.html - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources