Researchers: Sarit Shimony Kanat¹, Eitan Kerem², Rosa Gofin¹, Natur Nidaa²

Background: Babies are a population with a high referral rate to the ER and health care services.

Objectives: To examine the characteristics related to use of healthcare services because of "fever" among mothers of healthy babies up to the age of six months. Personal characteristics of the mother, knowledge of fever management, perception of support, consultation and health education, accessibility and availability of community health services were measured.

Method: A prospective six months follow-up study. Enrollment in hospital maternity wards (5 national districts). Mothers signed an informed consent. Sample size in research recruitment n = 2,804, and after six months n = 1,447, response rate was 65.2%.

Findings: 907 mothers reported the baby had fever, 59.0% accessed health services. In multivariate analysis, a lower ER use was found among mothers of two or more children, and a higher use when community physician hours were inconvenient. Higher community services use when family income is lower than average, lower use among mothers of two or more children, and decrease in use as knowledge in fever management rises. Mother's education level, religion or perceived support and/or consultation with professionals and/or friends and family were not connected to use of health services. Reducing mothers' use of health services is associated with mother's personal characteristics and availability health services.

Conclusions: Reducing mothers' use of health services because of baby fever is related to mother's personal characteristics and to the availability of medical services in a residential environment.

Recommendations: To lower use of health services because of fever in babies interventions should be invested in elevating knowledge of mothers to firstborn babies and promote availability of community physicians hours.

Research end date: 06/2019