AI Insight
This cross-sectional study surveyed mothers in northern Jordan about their home management of febrile seizures in children under six years old. While 68.4% of mothers demonstrated proper management practices such as placing children in safe positions and monitoring seizure duration, significant gaps existed including high panic rates (61.9%) and inappropriate interventions like cardiac massage (23.8%). Higher maternal knowledge and positive attitudes were significantly associated with better home-management practices, accounting for 27% of the variance.
Why it matters
The findings highlight critical gaps in caregiver knowledge about febrile seizure first aid, which could lead to harmful interventions or inadequate responses. The results underscore the need for targeted educational programs by healthcare providers to improve parental response and ensure safer home management of febrile seizures in children.
Understand the Science
by Maha Atout, Nouraldun M. Alhsenat, Huda Gharaibeh, Fatimah S. Tarawneh, Atheer Qashou
Background
Febrile seizure is the most prevalent seizure disorder among young children, and it commonly occurs in the home setting, where mothers are often the first responders. First-aid management of febrile seizures is also important to avoid complications and help parents feel less anxious. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of evidence describing the home-management practices of mothers in Jordan.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to describe the home-management practices of mothers of children under six years of age with febrile seizures in Jordan and to determine factors associated with appropriate and inappropriate practices.
Methods
A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used. Data were collected between August and December 2021 from mothers attending pediatric outpatient clinics and pediatric wards in two public hospitals in northern Jordan. A structured questionnaire developed by Elbilgahy and Abd El Aziz (2018) was used to assess mothers’ home-management practices. Predictors of mothers’ home-management practices were analyzed using SPSS version 26, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and backward multiple regression analysis.
Results
In total, 68.4% of the mothers exhibited proper home-management behaviors in the course of febrile seizure. The majority of mothers reported that they put the child in a safe position (86.9%), noticed the manifestations and duration of seizures (84.5%), and tried to decrease body temperature (85.7%). Nevertheless, a considerable percentage of them were panic (61.9%) and doing the wrong things like cardiac massage (23.8%). Regression analysis showed that higher maternal knowledge and more positive attitudes were significantly associated with better home-management practice scores, which explained 27% of the variance of home-management practices among mothers.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that over two-thirds of mothers showed proper actions, there were still gaps in some essential first-aid actions in case of febrile seizures. There were a number of factors that were linked to home-management practices by mothers, which underscored the need to enhance the education of caregivers about the first-aid management of febrile seizures. Specific educational programs by healthcare providers are required to enhance the response of caregivers and encourage safe home management of febrile seizures among children.