Knowledge and practice of fever management among mothers with children under 5 at Hung Vuong general Hospital in 2023

Abstract

Objective: To examine knowledge and practice of fever management among mothers who had children treated at the Hung Vuong General Hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on the total of 170 mothers with children under 5 years old. Results: Knowledge; there were 54,4% (n =92) mothers understood correctly the signs of fever. Mothers understood correctly on consequence of fever caused convulsions (74,6%) and dehydration and electrolytes (62,7%). Practices: prevelance of measuring temperature using mercury thermometer correctly acounted for 76.9%; appropriate dose of reduced fever was 55,8%. However, 32.4% of mothers did not know how to properly handle a child’s fever, 23.1% of mothers did not know the time interval using antipyretics. Conclusions: The prevalence of children with a history of second fever experienced and convulsions was quite high, mothers’ knowledge and practice on fever management were relatively low. Healthcare workers, especially nurses who directly provide care, need to educate and train mothers on this issue