Childhood fever management program for Korean pediatric nurses: A comparison between blended and face-to-face learning method

Discursive analysis of nursing care toward childhood fever and its contextual differences: An ethnomethodological study

Fever is the most common clinical sign during infancy. Nurses deal with fever in children most directly and it is an integral aspect of their role as pediatric nurses. The objective of this study is to analyze the perceptions, knowledge and attitudes toward childhood fever of nurses in three health contexts: pediatric hospitalization, pediatric emergency and primary care. To respond this objective, a qualitative study with ethnomethodological approach has been carried out. In-depth interviews were conducted and theoretical clinical cases were presented to nurses working in pediatrics in the three settings studied. After the analysis of the discourses, the codes were classified into three categories: static and number-centric knowledge, dependent nursing attitude, and unconscious model nurses. On the one hand, when we analyze and compare the perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of the nurses between the different contexts, we find differences that consist mainly of what the context requires of them. On the other hand, in general and regardless of the context, the nurses interviewed place themselves in a traditional framework when faced with the phenomenon of fever in children.

Childhood fever and medical students: A multicentre, educational intervention

AIM

Misconceptions and non-evidence-based practices toward childhood fever are reported worldwide. Medical students might be ideal candidates to introduce long-lasting changes in clinical practice. However, no study has gauged the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve fever management in this population. We conducted an educational, interventional study on childhood fever among final-year medical students.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, multicentre interventional study employing a pre/post-test design. Participants from three Italian Universities filled in a questionnaire just before the intervention (T0), immediately after (T1) and 6 months later (T2) in 2022. The intervention was a two-hour lecture focused on the pathophysiology of fever, recommendations for its treatment and risks associated with improper management.

RESULTS

188 final-year medical students (median age of 26 years, 67% females) were enrolled. Relevant improvements in the criterion for treating fever and conceptions about the beneficial effects of fever were observed at T1 and T2. Similar data were found for the reduction of physical methods advice to decrease body temperature and concerns for brain damage from fever.

CONCLUSION

This study shows for the first time that an educational intervention is effective in changing students' conceptions and attitudes toward fever both in the short and medium term.

Theories informing technology enhanced learning in nursing and midwifery education: A systematic review and typological classification

BACKGROUND

Learning is a complex process involving internal cognitive processes and external stimuli from curricula, pedagogical strategies, and the learning environment. Theories are used extensively in higher education to understand the intricacies of adult learning and improve student outcomes. Nursing and midwifery education uses a range of technology enhanced learning (e-learning) approaches, some of which are underpinned by theoretical frameworks.

OBJECTIVE

Synthesise literature on theories that inform technology enhanced learning in nursing and midwifery education.

DESIGN

A systematic review.

DATA SOURCE

CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE and PubMed were searched for relevant studies (2000-2021). Reference lists of related literature reviews were hand searched.

REVIEW METHODS

Title and abstract, followed by full texts were screened by two reviewers independently using predefined eligibility criteria. Quality appraisal was not undertaken. Data were extracted and Merriam and Bierema's typology of adult learning theories used to categorise theories in each study.

RESULTS

Thirty-three studies were included, incorporating twenty-nine distinct learning theories from the behaviourist, cognitivist, constructivist, and social cognitivist domains, with constructivist being the most widely used. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory and Driscoll's Constructivist Learning Theory were the most commonly reported theories. The population of learners were mainly undergraduate nursing students who used a range of online, mobile, blended or computerised learning, virtual reality, or digital forms of simulation, primarily in university settings. Theories were employed to inform the technology enhanced learning intervention or to help explain how these could improve student learning.

CONCLUSION

This review highlighted a range of theories, particularly constructivist approaches, that underpin research on technology enhanced learning in nursing education, by informing or explaining how these digital interventions support learning. More rigorous research that examines the myriad of theoretical frameworks and their effectiveness in informing and explaining technology enhanced learning is needed to justify this approach to pedagogical nursing research and practice.

Analysis of Nurses' and Physicians' Attitudes, Knowledge, and Perceptions toward Fever in Children: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

CONTEXT

Fever is a common symptom in children that nurses and pediatricians treat. Although it is a common sign in clinical practice, fever instills irrational fears in parents that health professionals share.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether doctors' and nurses' knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward fever influence how this sign is managed. Furthermore, it intends to evaluate whether educational programs increase knowledge and change attitudes and/or perceptions of nurses about children's fever.

DATA SOURCES

A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted with PRISMA international standards and the Cochrane recommendations.

STUDY SELECTION

Articles examining health professionals' (doctors and/or nurses) knowledge, perceptions, and/or attitudes toward fever in children and the use of antipyretics were selected for the study.

DATA EXTRACTION

The qualitative analysis was carried out by classifying the articles according to the applied educational programs for nurses related to fever care for children that evaluated different outcomes to determine their efficacies.

RESULTS

For the qualitative synthesis, 41 articles were included, and 5 of these were taken in meta-analysis, which measured the effectiveness of educational programs for fever management in nurses.

LIMITATIONS

All of the included studies generally had a high risk of bias.

CONCLUSION

According to the evidence reviewed, nurses' and physicians' perceptions and attitudes regarding fever management in children indicate an overtreatment of this sign. We can give a recommendation grade of D on the use of educational programs to modify attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge about fever in children and improve clinical practice in nurses.