Parental Approaches to Febrile Children Presenting to the Emergency Department: A Descriptive Study

Aim: Fever is a common childhood health issue that often leads to parental concern and results in emergency department visits. This study aimed to determine the frequency of fever management practices and the level of parental burden among parents who brought their child to the emergency department due to an elevated body temperature.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in a pediatric emergency department between March 1 and June 1, 2020, involving a total of 280 parents. Data were collected using the ‘Descriptive Information Form’ and the ‘Parental Fever Management Scale (PFMS).’Results: The majority of participants were mothers (84.6%). Among the parents, 91.1% had previously encountered a febrile episode in their child, and 85.7% had sought hospital care due to fever. The mean PFMS score was 27.60 ± 6.70, with significantly higher scores observed among younger parents (p < 0.05). Similarly, parents of younger children reported higher PFMS scores (p<0.05). Most parents (84.6%) owned a thermometer, 80% knew normal body temperature values, and 50.4% preferred forehead temperature measurement. Regarding fever management, 40.4% administered antipyretics as the first intervention, and 30% applied vinegar water to wipe the child’s body.Conclusions: The findings indicate that parents’ engagement in fever management practices and their caregiving burden tend to increase during their child’s febrile episodes, despite the persistence of knowledge gaps. It is recommended that healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, provide structured education to parents on evidence-based fever management strategies.