were dissatisfied with the information provided.
These results may explain in part the low level of knowledge about fever
Levels of concern among parents included the 86.6%"of
participants who frequently or always worried about their
childi-en’s fever and the 10.9% who were concerned that un-
treated fever would continue to increase beyond 42 “C,
Participant were primarily concerned because they did not know
the cause of the fever (71.5%). Anxiety because of fever was
expressed by 68.8% of participants. Participant concern re-
garding fever outcomes included progression to brain damage
(77.7%), seizures (65.6% ), lowered intelligence (55.5%), pneu-
monia (38.4%), death (17.6%), and disability (14.8%). Little
concern was expressed about the child’s comfort (4%).
The three most frequently reported home treatments for
childhood fever were applying ice packs (77.6%) and providing
liquids in the form of sports drinks (60.2%) or hot drinks (52.2%).
Participants wantedt the etiology of the child's
fever confirmed and treated using antipyretic drugs (45.8%)
Most (83. 7%) wanted immediate antipyretic treatment, whereas
only 14.2% refused antipyretic treatment because it might
interfere with the pediatrician’s evaluation. Half of particiants
took their child to a medical clinic within 24 hours of
fever onset, and 89.5% gave antipyretics before the clinic visit.
In terms of home management of fever, 621 (96.7%) of
participants used at least one Western treatment, and 417 (65.0%)
used at least one Chinese traditional therapy.No significant
differences were found in knowledge scores between those
who used Western treatments an those who used traditional Chinese therapies.