Articles

Lessons to Be Learnt For Policy Planners on Promoting Health Education on Childhood Fever Management: Evidence from a Cohort of Children with Dengue Fever

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Introduction
Dengue fever has been a public health challenge in Sri Lanka. Many of the home-based secondary preventive measures are influenced by the parental knowledge on fever. This study was done to describe the level of knowledge on fever among parents and its associations with the events of child’s dengue episode with the view of exploring the components that should be covered in related health educational messages.
Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in six general medical wards of the premier children’s hospital in Sri Lanka. Parents who were the bystanders of children admitted as suspected cases of dengue according to the surveillance guidelines, consisted the study population. The sample size was determined with a statistical formula. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used. Data collection was done by two trained data collectors. Descriptive statistics and the chi square test were used with a significance level of 5%. Prior ethics approval was obtained.
Results
Study sample included 423 parents with a response rate of 99.5%. Most were parents of children of school going age (64.8%) and majority were mothers (97.6%). In more than half (50.4%), the level of knowledge was unsatisfactory. The level of knowledge was significantly associated with the education level (p<0.05), but not with the gender or the employment status (p>0.05) of the parents. A higher knowledge was further associated with a higher utilization of thermometer, and the administration of the correct anti-pyretic dosage and early laboratory diagnosis (p<0.05). Conclusions and Recommendations A higher level of knowledge on fever is associated with favourable clinical events in the dengue episode. The level of knowledge on fever must be improved irrespective of the gender and the employment status of the parents prioritizing those with a lower level of education. Public health interventions must be implemented by regular updating of public health staff’s knowledge on prevention of dengue, fever management their implications on laboratory diagnosis and treatment costs through in service training and in empowering the field health staff in disseminating relevant health education messages to the community