Knowledge and management of fever among Moroccan parents

Parents often have misperceptions about childhood fever, and little information is available about the home management of feverish children in Morocco. In this study of the perceptions, knowledge and practices of families regarding children's fever, the parents of 264 febrile children aged 0-16 years were interviewed in a paediatric emergency department in Rabat in 2011. Only 3.5% of parents knew the correct temperature definition for fever, 54.4% determined their children's fever using a thermometer, and the preferred site was rectal. Most of them (96.8%) considered that fever was a very serious condition, which could lead to side-effects such as brain damage (28.9%), seizures (18.8%) paralysis (19.5%), dyspnoea (14.8%) and coma (14.8%). Paracetamol was used by 85.9% and traditional treatments by 45.1%. Knowledge about the correct definition of fever was significantly associated with parents' profession, educational level and receipt of previous information and advice from health professionals.