Parent's Attitude, Knowledge and Belief of Child's Fever Managements in Al-Qassim - Saudi Arabia
Yasser Almogbel *
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, 51452 Al Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Jouza H. Al-Qussair
College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, 51452 Al Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman M. Alamri
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad Alhowail
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, 51452 Al Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mugahid A. Mobark
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, 51452 Al Qassim, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Parent’s misconception of fever, result in increased anxiety and antipyretics are commonly used in this situation. So any lack of parent’s knowledge regarding strategies of using them raises the possibility of drug-related problems.
Objective: This study evaluated the parents’ knowledge, attitude and beliefs in dealing with the children’s fever.
Methods: An ethically approved cross-sectional study was conducted in Qassim region -Saudi Arabia.
Results: A total of 490 parents were participated in this study, 83.7% of them were mothers. Half of parents use the armpit site for measuring temperature. The majority of parents considered the temperature ≤37°C as normal and more than half of them considered ≥38°C as fever temperature. Convulsion was believed to be a complication of fever in 71% of parents and there was a significant association between the number of children and the practice of giving antipyretics. A wrong practice of assessing fever was using hand touch, and this study revealed that this behavioral was presented in a nearly third of parents. Acetaminophen was the commonly used antipyretics beside ice packs as a common non pharmacological therapy. The study also showed the majority of parents didn’t know the importance of weight in considering antipyretic.
Conclusion: Over all, parents participated in this study have inadequate knowledge about fever, its assessment and decision of giving a medication. However, past experiences and the number of sibling highly influence their practice and knowledge. Therefore, there is a need of effort to maximize parents’ information and awareness about fever.
Keywords: Children, fever, parents, Saudi Arabia.