Knowledge and management of fever among Latino parents.
Fever is a common childhood condition that is often misunderstood and incorrectly managed by parents. This study uses a questionnaire about fever administered to a convenience sample of Spanish-speaking-only parents bringing their child to a hospital-based urban pediatric clinic. The questionnaire elicits information about definition and cause of fever, concerns about fever, methods of temperature measurement, and treatment modalities used by the parents. Latino parents have numerous misconceptions about fever and its role in illness. Educational interventions should target fever definition, clarification of cause and potential harm of elevated temperatures, temperature monitoring, and safe treatment modalities. Owning a thermometer is strongly associated with correct knowledge of temperature values. 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.
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. mcrocet1@jhmi.edu
Michael
M
Crocetti
Bruce
B
Sabath
Lisa
L
Cranmer
Sasha
S
Gubser
Danielle
D
Dooley
D000328:Adult; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001831:Body Temperature; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013821:Thermometers; D014481:United States
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic