Fever, Fever Management Practices, Parental Anxiety, Pediatric Fever Management
Conditions
Keywords
Fever, Pediatric Fever, Fever Management, Parental Education, Anxiety, Artificial Intelligence
Brief summary
This study aims to evaluate the effect of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based educational program on mothers' fever management practices and anxiety related to fever in children. Fever is a common symptom in pediatric patients, especially under the age of three, causing repeated health concerns for parents. Despite the prevalence of fever, parents often engage in inappropriate fever management practices, which may lead to unnecessary anxiety and improper care. The study was conducted as a pretest-posttest experimental design including 80 mothers of children who presented to the Pediatric Emergency Unit at Erciyes University, Fevzi Mercan-Mustafa Eraslan Children's Hospital. Participants were assigned to either an intervention group receiving AI-supported fever management education or a control group receiving standard care. Data were collected using validated scales to assess parental fever management practices and anxiety levels before and after the intervention. The educational material was developed using ChatGPT 4.0, a large language model AI platform, and reviewed by pediatric experts. The results of this study may improve fever management education and reduce anxiety among mothers, potentially leading to better health outcomes for children.
Detailed description
This study investigates the impact of an AI-supported educational program on mothers' fever management practices and anxiety. Fever is common in pediatric patients and can cause significant concern for parents, especially for children under three years old. Parents often engage in inappropriate fever management practices, leading to improper care and increased anxiety. The study uses a pretest-posttest experimental design involving 80 mothers who presented to the Pediatric Emergency Unit at Erciyes University, Fevzi Mercan-Mustafa Eraslan Children's Hospital. Participants were assigned to either an intervention group receiving education developed using ChatGPT 4.0, reviewed by pediatric experts, or a control group receiving standard care. Data collection tools include validated scales measuring fever management practices and anxiety levels. The intervention aims to improve mothers' fever management practices and reduce anxiety, potentially improving child health outcomes.
Interventions
OTHERAI-Based Fever Management Education
This intervention consists of a fever management education program developed using ChatGPT 4.0, a large language model by OpenAI. The educational content includes seven pages and eight visuals explaining how to manage fever in children. The content was reviewed by pediatric specialists and revised accordingly. It is delivered as a one-time structured session to mothers in the intervention group.
Sponsors
TC Erciyes University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Participants (mothers of children) will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: an intervention group receiving AI-supported fever management education, and a control group receiving standard care. Outcomes will be compared between the two groups to evaluate the effect of the educational intervention.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Mothers aged over 18 years, * Mothers with children aged between 6 months and 5 years, * No hearing problems, * Agree to participate in the study, * Presenting to the pediatric emergency department with a complaint of fever in their child, * Child admitted to the emergency observation room for treatment, * Able to speak and understand Turkish.
Exclusion criteria
* Illiterate mothers, * Mothers whose children have had febrile seizures, * Mothers whose children have comorbid diseases, * Mothers whose children have symptoms requiring medical intervention other than fever.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Parents' Fever Management Practices | Baseline and 2 weeks after intervention | The Parents' Fever Management Scale (PFMS; Turkish: EAYÖ), developed by Walsh et al. (2008) and validated in Turkish by Altun et al. (2011), measures parents' fever management practices. It consists of 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Never, 2=Rarely, 3=Sometimes, 4=Often, 5=Always), yielding a total score ranging from 8 to 40. Higher total scores indicate more fever phobia and less appropriate fever management practices, whereas lower scores indicate more appropriate practices. Therefore, a decrease in the total score reflects improvement. In this study, a reduction in PFMS scores in the intervention group relative to the control group was hypothesized. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Parental Anxiety Levels | Baseline and 2 weeks after intervention | Anxiety was measured using the short version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), consisting of 5 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with total scores ranging from 5 to 20. Higher scores indicate greater anxiety and lower scores indicate less anxiety; therefore, a decrease in the score reflects reduced anxiety. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed