Febrile Illness, Fever, Stress
Conditions
Keywords
Febrile episode, pediatric, pediatric emergency department, therapeutic education
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of an information brochure on parent / legal guardians' knowledge of what to do about their child's febrile episode after a pediatric emergency department visit. Single-center randomized controlled trial.
Detailed description
Fever is a common symptom of viral or bacterial infection in pediatrics. Previous studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods have established that intervention with parents/legal guardians on fever management decreases their worry and anxiety related to their child's occurrence of a febrile episode, limits unwise use of antipyretic medication (Walsh, 2006; Walsh, 2008; Peetom, 2017), but also reduces the use of emergency room or telephone medical consultations (Peetom, 2017). The majority of visits for febrile conditions in children over 3 months of age are avoidable and do not require emergency and/or hospital care. Mistaken beliefs and lack of knowledge about what to do in the event of a febrile episode lead parents to consult a hospital emergency room for their child, which can have an impact on emergency room overcrowding. The proportion of emergency room visits for febrile conditions assessed by the Intake and Referral Nurse (IOR) as not requiring urgent care raises questions about parents'/legal guardians' knowledge of fever, its monitoring, and what to do during a febrile episode. The aim of our study is to evaluate parents' knowledge of fever and the appropriate course of action during a febrile episode in a pediatric emergency department of a Parisian university hospital by comparing standard management practices with the knowledge provided by an information brochure.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALThe Information brochure will be created on the basis of information given by the French pediatric network Courlygone and the French National Authority for Health.
An information brochure on fever in children and how to deal with a paediatric febrile episode and usual medical management.
Sponsors
URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Caregiver)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Be of legal age * Be the parent/legal guardian of a child aged between 3 months and 15 years, * A child with a fever \> 38°celsus on arrival at the emergency room (measured by electronic thermometer rectally for children under 2 years of age or axillary/oral for children over 2 years of age), * Severity of care rating by the IOA grade 4 (non-emergency care) * Parent affiliated to a social security system or entitled to it * Parent under AME French social security system * Parent informed and having signed the consent
Exclusion criteria
* Parent/legal guardian who does not speak or read French, * Child with a pathology that does not allow for rectal temperature taking * Parent/legal guardian with a visual impairment that prevents reading the information note and/or the information brochure. * Parent / legal guardian under guardianship
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants with correct answer to question about management of a paediatric febrile episode. | 1 day | Number of correct answers to question n°7 (what to do during a febrile episode) of the questionnaire |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°2 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 2. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. Factors associated with a high number of correct responses: age of child, age of legal guardian, socio-professional category, child's place in sibling group, child's medical follow-up. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°3 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 3. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°4 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 4. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°5 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 5. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°1 about knowledge about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n°1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°8 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 8. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°9 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 9. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°10 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 10. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
| Number of participants with correct answer to question n°6 about knowledge's about paediatric febrile episode | 1 day | Answer to question n° 6. Number of participants with correct answers, between the two arms. |
Countries
France
Outcome results
None listed