Medical education for parents promotes a more rational approach to fever – Fit for Fever innovation fund project launched

The Fit für Fieber (Fit for Fever) innovation fund project is testing a multimodal form of care for children with fever in order to promote a rational and safe approach to this protective reaction of the body, which is beneficial for the immune system. The form of care is based on a randomized controlled two-stage approach:

First, pediatricians from the intervention practices take part in an online training course on the new fever guidelines. Then, nearly 70,000 parents at pediatric and adolescent medical practices in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg receive a personal fever education consultation as part of a regular preventive medical checkup for their child. 
 

An additional information package via the “Meine pädiatrische Praxis” (My Pediatric Practice) app from the Professional Association of Pediatricians, the FeverApp, and other digital offerings are designed to provide parents with reliable information in the event of fever. 
 

For a rational, resource-oriented approach to fever

Subjective fears and ignorance characterize how many parents deal with fever. As a result, there is a disproportionately high number of unnecessary emergency admissions or medication administrations. This increases the risk of antibiotic resistance and places a strain on the healthcare system and the environment. This is where Fit für Fieber comes in, to empower parents to deal with fever in a rational manner. 
 

The aim is to investigate how this new form of care affects antibiotic prescriptions, emergency visits, and costs. There is no additional documentation work for the practices in the intervention group, as routine data is used for evaluation.

• Duration: November 1, 2025 – October 31, 2028
• Participating federal states: North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
• Project website:https://www.uni-wh.de/fit-fuer-fieber

Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of North Rhine (KVNO), Westphalia-Lippe (KVWL), Bavaria (KVB), and Baden-Württemberg (KVBW), Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG, formerly BZgA), the patient organization for congenital immunodeficiencies dsai e. V., DAK-Gesundheit

• AWMF S3 Guideline
• Guideline for parents
• FeverApp