{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T07:31:22Z","timestamp":1785569482026,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776816000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pediatric Reports"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Fever is a common concern among parents, often leading to heightened anxiety and misconceptions about its management. While fever phobia has been extensively studied in Western countries, data from the Middle East\u2014particularly Iran\u2014remain limited. Understanding parental knowledge and anxiety in this cultural context is essential for developing targeted educational interventions. This study aims to assess parental knowledge, behavior, and anxiety regarding fever in children and to identify factors associated with higher levels of anxiety among Iranian parents, thereby contributing culturally specific evidence to the international literature on pediatric fever management. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 552 parents from Tehran, Iran, recruited through convenience sampling. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires assessing demographic characteristics, knowledge about fever, treatment practices, and anxiety levels using a 10-point Likert scale. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to examine the underlying factors influencing parents\u2019 decisions to reduce fever. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses on standardized z-values were conducted to determine the predictors of fever-related anxiety. Results: Results showed that 67.4% of parents experienced anxiety when managing their child\u2019s fever, with 65.6% perceiving fever as harmful. Fear of febrile seizures (77.4%) and brain damage were significant concerns motivating parents to reduce fever. Female parental sex (\u03b2 = 0.336, p = 0.004) and the perception of fever as harmful (\u03b2 = 0.058, p &lt; 0.001) were the strongest predictors of fever-related anxiety. The PCA identified two key factors influencing fever management behavior: well-being protection and medical risk prevention. Parents commonly treated fever using combinations with either Paracetamol or Ibuprofen (47.6%). Conclusions: Parental anxiety about fever in Iran is largely driven by misconceptions, especially regarding febrile seizures and brain damage. Culturally tailored education and clear communication from healthcare providers are essential to reduce these fears, improve fever management, and decrease unnecessary antipyretic use.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pediatric18030061","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]],"date-time":"2026-04-22T12:00:32Z","timestamp":1776859232000},"page":"61","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evaluation of Parental Knowledge and Practices in Pediatric Fever Management Among Iranian Families: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Tarlan","family":"Soumei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health\/School of Medicine, Witten\/Herdecke University, 58455 Witten, Germany"},{"name":"Main-Vision Eye Center, 60329 Frankfurt, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7479-8607","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Hamideh Kerdar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health\/School of Medicine, Witten\/Herdecke University, 58455 Witten, Germany"},{"name":"Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, 44061 Dortmund, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4279-3032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David D.","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health\/School of Medicine, Witten\/Herdecke University, 58455 Witten, Germany"},{"name":"Clinic for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of T\u00fcbingen, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Parviz","family":"Rafiezadeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Main-Vision Eye Center, 60329 Frankfurt, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5415-8784","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ekkehart","family":"Jenetzky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Integrative Medicine, Faculty of Health\/School of Medicine, Witten\/Herdecke University, 58455 Witten, Germany"},{"name":"Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bertille, N., Purssell, E., Hjelm, N., Bilenko, N., Chiappini, E., de Bont, E.G.P.M., Kramer, M.S., Lepage, P., Lava, S.A.G., and Mintegi, S. 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