Abstract:

Fever is one of the most common symptoms of childhood diseases, it is a passive rise in body temperature that subsides after a short time. This study aimed at assessing the management and outcome of fever among mothers of children (0-5years) in Edim Otop Community, Calabar, and Cross River State, Nigeria. Three objectives with the corresponding research questions were formulated. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population and sample comprised of 351 mothers who were indigenes of Edim Otop Community. Convenient sampling technique was employed to select 122 mothers of under-five children to form the sample for this study. A self-developed and structured questionnaire was used to obtain data and analyzed using simple frequency and percentage tables obtained revealed that majority of the respondents, 97(79.5%) affirmed that they carried out home management of fever when their child was sick while 25(20.5%) did not. All of the respondents, 122(100%) applied wet sponge on their child to alleviate the febrile condition. 87(71.3%) Respondents used a thermometer to check the temperature of their child when feverish; 91(74.6%) foot bathed their children with cold water as a way of reducing the feverish condition of their children. From the findings, it was concluded that a greater percentage of the mothers of children (0-5years) exhibit good fever management practices despite the fact that there were factors influencing their home management.

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