Background: Fever is a source of considerable parental anxiety. Numerous studies of health care providers have confirmed anxiety among health care workers as well. The primary aim of the present study was to describe two groups of patients that visited the pediatric emergency department: a first group referred by a pediatrician or a family physician and a second group not referred by a medical physician, and to see if there was any active educational intervention for the parents by the physicians, in order to reduce their fever phobia.
Methods: Fourteen –question survey study of caregivers in both groups.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the correct definition of fever between 38.0°C and 38.3°C, although, most of the parents did not know the correct definition. Also, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the belief that high fever can cause brain damage and epilepsy. For a comfortable-appearing child with fever, both groups reported that they would give antipyretics. In both groups there was a high number of parents that believed teething could cause fever.
Conclusion: Our findings showed that aggressive educational campaign is needed in order to reduce fever phobia of parents and that health care providers should be concerned about this issue .
