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Knowledge, attitude, and practice in management of childhood fever among Saudi parents, in a rural area in Saudi Arabia.

Karimeldin MA Salih , Hamed Alshahrani A, Yazeed Alshahrani F, Mohamed Hamid E, Mushabab AL-Ghamdi A, Kamal Elhassan EH, Jaber Alfaify, Mohammed Abbas, Mutasim E Ibrahim*, Ishag Adam

Introduction: Fever is a common symptom for children globally, accounting for more than 20% of emergency room visits. However, parents' knowledge, practice, and attitude towards it are still not convinced in many societies. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice in managing childhood fever among parents in a rural area. Methodology: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among Saudi parents in the Bisha area, southern Saudi Arabia. A standardized questionnaire form was used to collect information related to parents' socio-demographics and their knowledge, attitudes, and management of childhood fever. Descriptive statistics were applied, and a chi-square test was used to evaluate the observed difference between data sets. Results: A total of 862 parents (521 mothers and 341 fathers) participated in the survey. Most parents (94.2%) had poor knowledge about the fever, 20% had a good attitude about the fever, and 42.9% had the experience to manage the childhood fever. About 56 % of parents used a digital thermometer to measure temperature. Paracetamol (90%) was the commonly used drug to reduce fever, and about 80% of parents administered the antipyretics through the oral route. More the half (57.7%) of parents believed that antibiotics might reduce high fever. Compared with the other age groups, parents with age less than 20 years had significantly (p=0001) highest rate (53.3%) of good knowledge. Attitude and management toward childhood fever were not statistically differed (p>0.5) in terms of parents gender, age, education level, number of children. Conclusion: This study showed a poor knowledge about childhood fever among the parents, although most of them shared worries about high fever and its consequences. For better control of childhood fever, extensive effort is needed to educate parents in such rural communities and enhance their awareness about fever and how to manage and deal with it.