Abstract
Background. We examined mothers' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and management of fever in their children. Methods. Interviews of mothers of preschool children were performed using a structured questionnaire administered by interviewers with no specific medical competence. Results. Of a total of 1,237 mothers who were interviewed, data were analyzed for the 707 mothers who had coped with a febrile episode in their children during the previous month. Of these, 59% were concerned about fever in their children and 17% were very worried. At the onset of fever, 48% of the mothers gave their child an antipyretic and 18% called the physician immediately. In logistic regression analysis, five variables were significantly associated with mothers' concern: the absence of previous information on the management of fever, temperature >39°C, an only child, mother's low educational level, and mother's residency in the south of Italy. For the request for a physician's visit, of the variables entered, the only explanatory ones were the mother's concern and the absence of previous information on the management of fever. Conclusions. These findings suggest that informing mothers on the definition, consequences, and treatment of fever can significantly improve their confidence in managing fever, as reflected by fewer requests for physicians' visits.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 268-273 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Preventive Medicine |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 1998 |
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Keywords
- Child
- Fever management
- Italy
- Mothers' attitudes
- Survey
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Mothers' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and management of fever in preschool children in Italy. / Impicciatore, Piero; Nannini, Simona; Pandolfini, Chiara; Bonati, Maurizio.
In: Preventive Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 2, 03.1998, p. 268-273.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Mothers' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and management of fever in preschool children in Italy
AU - Impicciatore, Piero
AU - Nannini, Simona
AU - Pandolfini, Chiara
AU - Bonati, Maurizio
PY - 1998/3
Y1 - 1998/3
N2 - Background. We examined mothers' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and management of fever in their children. Methods. Interviews of mothers of preschool children were performed using a structured questionnaire administered by interviewers with no specific medical competence. Results. Of a total of 1,237 mothers who were interviewed, data were analyzed for the 707 mothers who had coped with a febrile episode in their children during the previous month. Of these, 59% were concerned about fever in their children and 17% were very worried. At the onset of fever, 48% of the mothers gave their child an antipyretic and 18% called the physician immediately. In logistic regression analysis, five variables were significantly associated with mothers' concern: the absence of previous information on the management of fever, temperature >39°C, an only child, mother's low educational level, and mother's residency in the south of Italy. For the request for a physician's visit, of the variables entered, the only explanatory ones were the mother's concern and the absence of previous information on the management of fever. Conclusions. These findings suggest that informing mothers on the definition, consequences, and treatment of fever can significantly improve their confidence in managing fever, as reflected by fewer requests for physicians' visits.
AB - Background. We examined mothers' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and management of fever in their children. Methods. Interviews of mothers of preschool children were performed using a structured questionnaire administered by interviewers with no specific medical competence. Results. Of a total of 1,237 mothers who were interviewed, data were analyzed for the 707 mothers who had coped with a febrile episode in their children during the previous month. Of these, 59% were concerned about fever in their children and 17% were very worried. At the onset of fever, 48% of the mothers gave their child an antipyretic and 18% called the physician immediately. In logistic regression analysis, five variables were significantly associated with mothers' concern: the absence of previous information on the management of fever, temperature >39°C, an only child, mother's low educational level, and mother's residency in the south of Italy. For the request for a physician's visit, of the variables entered, the only explanatory ones were the mother's concern and the absence of previous information on the management of fever. Conclusions. These findings suggest that informing mothers on the definition, consequences, and treatment of fever can significantly improve their confidence in managing fever, as reflected by fewer requests for physicians' visits.
KW - Child
KW - Fever management
KW - Italy
KW - Mothers' attitudes
KW - Survey
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032008571&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1006/pmed.1998.0262
DO - 10.1006/pmed.1998.0262
M3 - Article
VL - 27
SP - 268
EP - 273
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
SN - 0091-7435
IS - 2
ER -