Sakai Rie, Okumura Akihisa, Marui Eiji, Niijima Shinichi, Shimizu Toshiaki
Department of Public Health, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Pediatr Int. 2012 Feb;54(1):39-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-200X.2011.03449.x. Epub 2011 Oct 30.
Undue parental fear of fever in children was termed "fever phobia" by Schmitt following a survey in the USA in 1980. In 2000, Crocetti et al. conducted the same survey and concluded that fever phobia existed even 20 years later. In this study, we explore differences in fever phobia between these two US populations and a Japanese sample, and determine whether parents of a single child or those whose child was previously hospitalized or had a febrile seizure report greater anxiety about fever.
A questionnaire was distributed to parents of children who visited a pediatric outpatient clinic in Juntendo University Nerima Hospital between 19 and 30 November 2007.
Data was obtained from 211 parents who agreed to participate in the study. Compared with much smaller proportions reported in the two previous studies, 62% of caregivers considered a temperature below 37.8°C to be a fever, although less than half of parents reported that they were "very worried" about fever. Over 90% identified doctors and nurses as their primary information source. In contrast to 7% of parents in the US studies, almost no parents reported that temperatures could rise to or above 43.3°C if fever was left untreated; however, 63% of parents stated that they would visit a hospital.
Fever phobia exists on both sides of the border, and while caregivers in Japan appear to have a more accurate understanding of fever, they are more likely to rely on health-care professionals to manage the condition.
1980年施密特在美国进行一项调查后，将父母对儿童发烧的过度恐惧称为“发烧恐惧症”。2000年，克罗切蒂等人进行了同样的调查，并得出结论，即使在20年后发烧恐惧症依然存在。在本研究中，我们探讨了这两组美国人群与一组日本样本在发烧恐惧症方面的差异，并确定独生子女的父母或其孩子曾住院或有热性惊厥的父母对发烧是否表现出更大的焦虑。
2007年11月19日至30日期间，向顺天堂大学练马医院儿科门诊就诊儿童的父母发放了问卷。
从211名同意参与研究的父母那里获得了数据。与之前两项研究报告的小得多的比例相比，62%的照料者认为体温低于37.8°C即为发烧，不过只有不到一半的父母表示他们“非常担心”发烧。超过90%的人将医生和护士视为主要信息来源。与美国研究中7%的父母不同，几乎没有父母报告说如果发烧不治疗体温会升至或高于43.3°C；然而，63%的父母表示他们会去医院就诊。
国界两边都存在发烧恐惧症，虽然日本的照料者似乎对发烧有更准确的认识，但他们更倾向于依靠医护专业人员来处理这种情况。
