Determining the Most Appropriate Time to Educate Caregivers on Fevers and Fever Management in a Pediatric Clinic

Fever phobia has been an identified problem in the United States since 1980. Caregivers' unrealistic fears and concerns regarding their child's fever has resulted in inappropriate fever management. Primary care providers should be educating caregivers on fevers and proper management. The purpose of this scholarly project was to identify the most appropriate time to educate caregivers on fevers and fever management. This project had four main objectives: 1) identify issues related to fever phobia and how best to educate caregivers in a community pediatric clinic, 2) determine if caregivers retain fever management education better at a well child exam or at an episodic visit involving a fever, 3) implement the evidenced based handout from Baby Your Baby for caregivers to be utilized by primary care providers, and 4) disseminate results to pediatric providers and other appropriate stakeholders. Research revealed that caregivers do not understand the definition of a fever. Caregivers also feel that the child needs to maintain a normal temperature and administer antipyretics when it is not indicated. Inappropriate use of antipyretics can result in liver damage. Caregivers could benefit from receiving education on fever management from their primary care providers. In addition to reviewing information on fevers; another topic researched was health literacy. Health literacy plays a role in this project as caregivers completed a questionnaire and received a handout on fevers and fever management. The handout chosen to support this project came from Baby Your Baby. Two groups of caregivers were given a pre-questionnaire and post-questionnaire on fevers. Group A had n=17 caregivers complete the pre-questionnaire at a well child visit. Group B had n=18 caregivers complete the pre-questionnaire at an episodic visit. Both groups of caregivers received a handout from Baby Your Baby on fevers and fever management. Two weeks later caregivers completed the post questionnaire over the phone. Group A n=11 with a dropout rate of 35.3% and Group B n=11 with a dropout rate of 38.9%. The post questionnaire results were compared between Group A and Group B to see which group retained more information. Although results did not meet strict statistical significance there may be clinical significance due to increased caretaker knowledge. Additionally, a larger sample size may have provided statistically significant results since values were trending in a positive manner. The handout and post questionnaire results were presented to the providers in their office. Determining the most appropriate time to educate caregivers on fever management can help providers identify when they should be educating caregivers. When proper education on fevers is provided at the opportune, it should decrease inappropriate utilization of health care resources and improve the child's health outcome. This project identified an appropriate evidenced based handout for caregivers to be utilized by primary care providers. This handout discussed the myths verses facts of fever, when to medicate the child, and when the child should be seen by the primary care provider. This project also identified that two weeks later the caregivers who participated in the study had retained the information given