Body Temperature Measurement Skills and Fever Knowledge of Caregivers with a Child Having Cancer

Purpose: We did not encounter a study dealing with the knowledge of fever and attitudes of caregivers having children with a diagnosis of malignant disease toward fever in English literature. Materials and Methods: Caregivers of 124 pediatric oncology patients and 72 patients without any malignant disease were recruited and interviewed using a 26-item questionnaire about fever and its management in two hospital clinics in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Results: Seventy point one percent of the mothers in oncology group were illiterate and in 75% of the cases, caregiver was the mother of the patient. Most of the caregivers in control group (72.2%) knew at least one harmful effect of high fever (p=0.001). The primary method of measurement however was palpation in both groups. 41.9% of the caregivers in oncology group knew the correct measurement of fever, but only 2.7% in control group (p=0.001). Resources of fever konowledge was mainly doctors and nurses in oncology group (p=0.001). Conclusion: Pediatric health care providers must have more initiative and exploit oppportunities on parental understanding of fever and its management. Educational interventions are needed to correct caregivers' misconceptions about fever and to promote appropriate management of febrile pediatric oncology patients.