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Parents' perceptions of taking babies' rectal temperature

¹Department of Primary Health Care, School of Health Care Sciences, Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne.

BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.)

|September 11, 1993

Summary

Parents expressed significant reluctance towards measuring their babies' rectal temperature due to concerns about harm and discomfort. Most parents preferred axillary temperature measurement, highlighting the need to address parental anxiety for any rectal temperature method adoption.

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Area of Science:

Pediatrics
Parental attitudes
Health behaviors

Background:

Accurate temperature measurement is crucial for assessing infant illness severity.
Rectal temperature measurement is considered the gold standard for infants.
Parental acceptance and adherence to recommended health practices are vital.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate parental attitudes towards measuring rectal temperature in infants.
To understand the reasons behind parental reluctance or acceptance of rectal temperature measurement.

Main Methods:

Qualitative study utilizing unstructured interviews.
Explored parental experiences with the "Baby Check" scoring system.
Included 42 parents of 34 infants under six months old in an inner-city general practice.

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Main Results:

A majority of parents (37/42) expressed concerns about rectal temperature measurement.
Common concerns included fear of causing pain, anxiety about intimacy/abuse, and infant distress.
Most parents (33/42) opted for axillary temperature measurement instead.

Conclusions:

Parental resistance to rectal temperature measurement stems from significant anxieties.
Encouraging rectal temperature use requires addressing parental concerns and potential anxiety generation.
Implementing rectal temperature measurement necessitates substantial resources for parental education and attitude change.