Effect of Warm Compress on Body Temperature of Adult Patients with Fever

Abstract

Fever is a commonly occurring health problem. One of the independent nursing interventions for the treatment of fever is the application of warm compress. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of warm compress on body temperature of adult patients with increased body temperature. The method used in this study is pre-experiment with one group pre-test and post-test design. A total of 20 adult patients with fever became respondents in this study. Warm compress was applied for 10 minutes, using a washcloth soaked in warm water at 37.5 ° C, on the forehead and both axilla. The washcloth is replaced three times or every three minutes. The results showed that the average body temperature of the respondents before applying warm compress was at 38.39 ° C and the average body temperature after applying warm compress was at 37.88 ° C. The paired t-test results showed p value <.05, with large effect size (d > .8). This suggests that warm compress on forehead and axilla applied on adult patients with fever is effective to lower the body temperature.