T. Šušteršič
Zdravstveni dom Koper, Dellavallejeva ul. 3, 6000 Koper, Slovenija

M. Semič Maršič
Razvojna ambulanta, Zdravstveni dom Koper, Dellavallejeva ul. 3, 6000 Koper, Slovenija

Abstract

With the help of a questionnaire we tried to determine whether parents of preschool children know how to correctly react when their children get sick, and whether we have adequately advised them about that in the preschool primary care unit. Materials and methods: Statistical analysis of questionnaires filled out by parents of children in the preschool clinic of the Postojna Health Centre. Results: 67 % of the surveyed parents were most worried about fever. The majority of parents (72 %) take their sick children to the doctor on the second or third day of the illness. The majority of parents (86 % of those surveyed) care for their sick children themselves. The answers to the questionnaire varied according to the age of children, but not overly, and mostly as expected. Conclusions: At the primary level, we take care of the overall health of children. During preventive health examinations we inform and educate parents on how to recognize and react if their child gets sick. We have reached the encouraging conclusions that parents mostly react calmly if their children get sick. There are still many challenges, especially in the field of educating parents on how to recognize symptoms and signs of diseases and how to react to fever in their children.

Key words: disease, child, parents, fever, health education