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Childhood fever education in a military population: is education enough?
J Steelman1, G S Kotchmar, W T Brehm
1Children's Hospital/Department of Endocrinology, Denver, CO 80218, USA.
Insights
Parental education improved children's fever management knowledge. However, this did not significantly change clinic or emergency room visits, highlighting the need for continued fever education in pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Medical education
- Public health
Background:
- Parental understanding of childhood fever is crucial for appropriate healthcare utilization.
- Military populations present unique challenges and opportunities for health interventions.
- Previous studies suggest a link between parental knowledge and healthcare-seeking behavior for childhood fever.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of an educational intervention on parental knowledge of childhood fever.
- To evaluate the effect of the intervention on clinic and emergency room utilization patterns in a military pediatric setting.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multiple-choice tests to assess parental knowledge in control and intervention groups.
- Tracked clinic and emergency room visits for appropriateness based on established criteria.
- Compared pre- and post-intervention knowledge scores and healthcare utilization data between groups.
Main Results:
- No initial difference in fever knowledge between control and intervention groups.
- Intervention group demonstrated significantly improved test scores post-intervention.
- Overall healthcare utilization did not show a significant improvement, with one subgroup exception.
Conclusions:
- Educational interventions can effectively enhance parental knowledge regarding childhood fever.
- Improved knowledge did not directly translate to reduced or more appropriate healthcare utilization.
- Reinforcing fever management education during pediatric preventive care visits is essential.
Purpose:
Parental knowledge of childhood fever and clinic and emergency room utilization were studied in a military pediatric clinic population to determine if intervention would improve parental understanding and management of childhood fever.
Methods:
Multiple choice tests evaluating childhood fever knowledge were given to control and intervention groups. Clinic and emergency room utilization were tracked for appropriateness of visits based on criteria used in previous similar studies.
Results:
Initial test scores showed no difference between the two groups. Subsequent test scores revealed a difference between the two groups as reflected by improved test scores. Evaluation of clinic and emergency room utilization of the groups did not show an overall improvement except in one subgroup analyzed.
Conclusion:
Intervention improved parental knowledge; however, intervention did not translate into anticipated improvement in clinic and emergency room utilization patterns. Emphasis on education and preventative services are important in both civilian and military pediatric practice. Results of this study highlight the need to discuss and reinforce fever education as a topic in pediatric preventive health care visits.