Childhood fever and medical students: A multicentre, educational intervention

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Medical Education
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Worldwide misconceptions and non-evidence-based practices regarding childhood fever persist.
• Medical students are potential agents for long-term clinical practice changes.
• The effectiveness of educational interventions on fever management in medical students remains unquantified.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention aimed at improving childhood fever management among final-year medical students.
• To assess changes in students' conceptions and attitudes toward fever following the intervention.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, multicentre interventional study with a pre/post-test design was conducted.
• 188 final-year medical students from three Italian Universities participated.
• Participants completed questionnaires at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 6 months later (T2) after a two-hour lecture on fever management.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in the criteria for treating fever and understanding its beneficial effects at T1 and T2.
• The intervention led to a reduction in advice regarding physical methods for reducing body temperature.
• Concerns about fever causing brain damage were notably reduced post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first evidence that an educational intervention can effectively modify students' conceptions and attitudes toward childhood fever.
• The observed changes in understanding and practice were sustained in both the short and medium term.
• Targeted educational programs can improve future physicians' approach to managing childhood fever.