Abstract

Background: Fever in children represent one of the most serious public problems that parents look for medical assistant for and is considered to be a clear sign of both infectious and chronic diseases common among children. The present study was aimed at evaluating the parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward childhood fever.
Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Hail city, Saudi Arabia. A total of 403 parents were selected and a standardized questionnaire was used for data collection, collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Ver. 20 software.
Results: About 55% of participants were within the age of 30 to 50 years old, 60% of parents agreed that paracetamol is the most common drug practiced for lowering the fever, and most of the parents were confused about the use of antibiotics for both viral and bacterial infection. Furthermore, the majority of the parents agreed that every child with a fever needs paracetamol, while 36% did not agree for the need for antibiotics for childhood fever.
Conclusion: The study results reflected the importance of conducting health education sessions and interventions to raise the parents' perception and knowledge related to the misuse of medications for childhood fever.

Key words: Childhood fever, parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practice, Hail city, Saudi Arabia