An-Najah Staff

Parental concern about childhood fever and consequent use of antipyretics is increasing. Little is known about childhood fever management among Arab parents. No scales to measure parents’ fever management practices in Palestine are available. The aim of this study was to validate the Arabic version of the Parent Fever Management Scale (PFMS) using a sample of parents in Palestine. A standard “forward–backward” procedure was used to translate PFMS into Arabic language. It was then validated on a convenience sample of 402 parents between July and October 2012. Descriptive statistics were used, and instrument reliability was assessed for internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Validity was confirmed using convergent and known group validation. Applying the recommended scoring method, the median (interquartile range) score of the PFMS was 26 (23–30). Acceptable internal consistency was found (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.733) and the test–retest reliability value was 0.92 (P < 0.001). The Chi squared (χ 2) test showed a significant relationship between PFMS groups and frequent daily administration of antipyretic groups (χ 2 = 52.86; P < 0.001). The PFMS sensitivity and specificity were 77.67 and 57.75 %, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 67.89 and 32.11 %, respectively. The Arabic version of the PFMS is a reliable and valid measure and can be used as a useful tool for health professionals to identify parents’ fever management practices. The Arabic version of the PFMS can be used to reduce unnecessary parental practices in fever management for a febrile child. 

Parental concern about childhood fever and consequent use of antipyretics is increasing. Little is known about childhood fever management among Arab parents. No scales to measure parents’ fever management practices in Palestine are available. The aim of this study was to validate the Arabic version of the Parent Fever Management Scale (PFMS) using a sample of parents in Palestine. A standard “forward–backward” procedure was used to translate PFMS into Arabic language. It was then validated on a convenience sample of 402 parents between July and October 2012. Descriptive statistics were used, and instrument reliability was assessed for internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Validity was confirmed using convergent and known group validation. Applying the recommended scoring method, the median (interquartile range) score of the PFMS was 26 (23–30). Acceptable internal consistency was found (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.733) and the test–retest reliability value was 0.92 (P < 0.001). The Chi squared (χ 2) test showed a significant relationship between PFMS groups and frequent daily administration of antipyretic groups (χ 2 = 52.86; P < 0.001). The PFMS sensitivity and specificity were 77.67 and 57.75 %, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 67.89 and 32.11 %, respectively. The Arabic version of the PFMS is a reliable and valid measure and can be used as a useful tool for health professionals to identify parents’ fever management practices. The Arabic version of the PFMS can be used to reduce unnecessary parental practices in fever management for a febrile child.

Background Fever is an extremely common occurrence in paediatric patients and the most common cause for a child to be taken to the doctor. The literature indicates that parents have too many misconceptions and conflicting information about fever management. The aim of this study was to identify parents’ beliefs and practices regarding childhood fever management.
Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among parents whose children were enrolled and presented for health care at primary health care clinics in the Nablus region of Palestine. Data were collected using structured questionnaire interviews with parents. The questionnaire consisted of ‘yes/no’ responses and multiple-response questions. Descriptive statistics were used.
Results Overall, 402 parents were interviewed. All parents believed that fever could cause at least one harmful effect if left untreated. The harmful effects most frequently reported by parents were brain damage (38.1%), dehydration (15.7%), and other organs damage such as liver and kidney damage (14.2%). The study showed that 65.4% of parents would recognise fever by only touching the child, 31.6% would measure the temperature and 3.0% would assess temperature by touching and measuring the child. Antipyretic was preferred to be used by 34.8% of parents, while 49.8% stated that they preferred cold sponges, and 3.2% stated that they preferred homeopathic methods to treat fever. The most common factors influencing frequency of medication administration included physician’s instruction (61.7%), the degree of elevated temperature (14.9%) and instructions on the medication leaflet (13.7%). Of the participant parents, 53.2% believed antipyretics used to reduce fever were harmful. Parents reported the most harmful outcomes from these antipyretics to be allergic reactions (20.9%), effects on the stomach (16.9%), kidney damage (16.2%) and overdose (11.4%).
Conclusions Parents were anxious when dealing with a feverish child, which resulted in incorrect or inappropriate practices. Parents require reliable evidence-based information about the care of feverish children. These results indicate a need to develop and evaluate educational programs in our setting that will provide parents with education on fever and fever management.