Mothers’ management of fever of children in Sabzevar

Background and Purpose: Fever is one of the most frequent disease symptoms and a common cause of emergency admissions in&nbsp;infants and children. Considering the alarming nature of fever and pivotal role of mothers in the management of this symptom in&nbsp;children, this study aimed to evaluate the ability of fever management among mothers in Sabzevar city, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 340 mothers with children aged less than 10 years referring&nbsp;to the healthcare centers of Sabzevar city, Iran in 2014. Data were collected using prepared checklists to assess the performance and&nbsp;ability of mothers in the management of fever. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.20 using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney&nbsp;U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: In this study, mean score of fever management was 4.65&plusmn;1.64, and 20.9% of the mothers used antipyretic drugs at the body&nbsp;temperature of 38&deg;C to control the fever of children. In addition, 83.7% of the mothers used antipyretics during the night by waking the&nbsp;children. Our findings were indicative of a significant association between fever management and maternal age (P=0.048), education&nbsp;level (P=0.002), employment status (P<0.001), and referring to community healthcare centers (P<0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, mothers with low education levels required training to promote their performance&nbsp;and conceptions regarding fever in order for the effective management of this common symptom in children.