Fever Education Given to Parents of Children Presenting to the Emergency Department With Fever

Evaluation of the Effect of Fever Education Given to Parents of Children Presenting to the Emergency Department With Fever on Parental Anxiety Level and Fever Management

Fever is a common symptom of childhood, especially between the ages of one and five, and is the main reason for emergency room visits. These emergency room visits are due to parents incorrect information and practices regarding fever management. This situation causes an increase in parental anxiety and failure to provide fever management. In line with this information, this study was planned to evaluate the effects of education given to parents of children presenting to the emergency room with fever on parental anxiety level and fever management.

Fever is a common symptom in childhood and is the main reason for emergency room visits. The rate of children applying to the emergency department due to fever in our country is quite high compared to the rest of the world. Parents misinformation and practices regarding fever increase parental anxiety levels and negatively affect fever management. Interventional studies aimed at reducing parents anxiety levels and ensuring fever management are quite limited. This research will evaluate the effect of fever education given to parents on their anxiety levels and fever management.

The research was planned as a randomized controlled study with experimental and control groups. The research will be carried out between April 2024 and April 2025. After the power analysis of the sample, a total of 80 people will be included in the sample, 40 in the experimental group and 40 in the control group. Parents in the experimental group will be given fever training, while parents in the control group will not receive any treatment. Data will be collected with Parent-Child Introductory Information Form, State Anxiety Scale, Parent Fever Management Scale, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)- Satisfaction with Fever Education Practice Scale and Parent-Education Satisfaction Form Scale. The data will be pre-tested, post-tested 1 month after the training, and permanence tested 3 months after the training, and the research will be terminated. Generalised linear models analysis, robust ANOVA, independent samples t test, Mann Whitney U and chi-square analysis will be used in the evaluation of the data. Mean, s.deviation, median, minimum and maximum will be used for quantitative data and frequency and percentage will be used for categorical data.As a result of the research, it is expected that fever education given to parents will positively affect parental anxiety level and fever management.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Having a child between the ages of 1-5
• Able to read, understand and have no problems speaking Turkish
• Having a green triage code in the emergency room triage application

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children diagnosed with or receiving treatment for chronic diseases
• Children with a history of febrile convulsions
• Children dependent on home mechanical ventilation
• Parents with psychiatric diagnoses will be excluded from the study