The Effects of Two Educational Strategies on Knowledge, Attitude, Concerns, and Practices of Mothers With Febrile Convulsive Children

Febrile seizures are common during childhood and have a good prognosis, although they cause fear and anxiety in parents. Parent education is an important intervention in febrile seizures. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two educational strategies, written information vs. written information plus verbal instruction on knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and practices of mothers with febrile convulsive children. The study adopts a quasi-experimental research design. A total of 102 mothers of children presenting with febrile seizure and admitted to a teaching hospital in Iran were equally assigned to three groups: Group I received no intervention (control group), Group II received a febrile seizure information pamphlet, and Group III received the febrile seizure information pamphlet plus verbal instruction. Knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and practices of participants regarding febrile seizure were measured as primary outcomes in the pre- and post- intervention stages. The results showed that although only a slight change in attitudes toward febrile seizures was found, both the febrile seizure information pamphlet alone and the febrile seizure information pamphlet plus verbal instruction were significantly effective in improving the knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and practices of mothers with febrile convulsive children toward febrile seizures. This study suggests that written materials in the form of a pamphlet can be an effective teaching strategy for educating parents on febrile seizures. However, written and verbal information should be given together where possible.