Abstract

Objective: The aim was to evaluate the knowledge, concerns and thoughts about febrile convulsions of patient relatives attending our hospital for any reason.

Material and Methods: The study included 600 participants aged from 18-70 years. The participants were questioned about age, educational and income levels, knowledge and sources of knowledge about febrile convulsions and level of concern.

Results: While 382 participants (63.6%) stated they knew what febrile convulsion was, only 101 participants (16.8%) gave an accurate description. Similarly, 337 people (56.2%) said they knew how to intervene with a child experiencing febrile convulsion, but only 31 (5.1%) had accurate information. As education and income levels increased, knowledge about febrile convulsion and how to intervene increased. For 227 participants (37.8%), a member of their family had experienced febrile convulsion, while 211 (35.2%) of participants had witnessed febrile convulsion and 80% of those who witnessed it were concerned. There was a positive correlation between witnessing febrile convulsion and accuracy of information about intervention. In addition, if a relative of the participant had experienced febrile convulsion, knowledge about how to intervene increased. A total of 449 participants (74.8%) thought that febrile convulsion involved permanent injury.

Conclusion: Though febrile convulsion is a commonly encountered benign tableau for health workers, it may be very frightening for a patient relative witnessing it for the first time. Participants were identified to have clearly low levels of knowledge about febrile convulsion and high levels of concern. It will be beneficial for health workers to educate patient relatives.

Keywords: Knowledge, Febrile Convulsion, Anxiety

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Copyright and license

Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

1.
Öz Tunçer G, Akkoç DC, Albayrak P, Kutluk MG, Teber S, Deda G. Knowledge, Concern and Thoughts of Patient Relatives about Febrile Convulsions. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2021 Jan. 22 [cited 2025 Aug. 23];15(1):19-23. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/816