Ethnic Differences in Parental Perceptions and Management of Childhood Fever

To explore knowledge and management of childhood fever among ethnically diverse parents and identify opportunities for educational intervention, we administered a cross-sectional survey to a convenience sample of 487 parents of children enrolled in 2 urban hospital-based pediatric clinics. Outcomes included parental definition of fever, level of concern, and management of fever. Latino parents were least likely to identify a temperature as non-febrile from 97-100.3 degrees F (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] 0.06) or identify a fever as a temperature from 100.4-107 degrees F (AOR 0.52). African Americans were least likely to believe that fever can cause death or brain damage (AOR 0.4). African Americans were more likely to dose ibuprofen more frequently than recommended (AOR 1.97). All ethnicities are equally likely to treat normal temperatures and dose acetaminophen too frequently. Therefore continued education of all families about fever is necessary, and there are opportunities to develop ethnically sensitive strategies to target educational interventions.