Childcare Facilities Research Articles

ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT, WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT AND JOB TENURE AS PREDICTORS OF JOB COMMITMENT AND SATISFACTION AMONG WORKING MOTHERS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA

The search for factors that contribute to working mothers’ job commitment and satisfaction in organisations is an ongoing one in view of the fact that they are crucial to working mothers’ well-being. This study extended the frontiers of this search by investigating the contributions of organisational support, work-family conflict and job tenure to the job commitment and satisfaction of working mothers in public universities in South-West, Nigeria. The study employed a survey research design of an ex-post-facto type. The target population of the study consisted of all working mothers in the thirteen (13) public universities in South-West, Nigeria from which a sample of 1,456 working mothers was selected through a multi-staged stratified random sampling technique. Four validated instruments namely; Job Commitment Scale (r = 0.93), Job Satisfaction Scale (r = 0.70), Organisational Support Questionnaire (r = 0.92) and Work-Family Conflict Scale (r = 0.88) were used to obtain responses from the participants. Data were analysed using Canonical Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. The results indicated a significant joint contribution of organisational support, work-family conflict and job tenure on working mothers’ job commitment and satisfaction (Rc = .383, F = 47.706; p <.05; Rc = .171, F = 21.773; p <.05). It was found that 76.6% of the variance in working mothers’ job commitment and satisfaction was accounted for by organisational support, work-family conflict and job tenure. These findings are attributable to the nature of women and their unique gender roles which predispose them to desire for an appreciable level of support from management, reduced work-family conflict and longer job tenures to engender their job commitment and satisfaction. It was recommended that university management should endeavour to improve staff retention, provide childcare facilities in every unit, implement flexible resumption and closing times for nursing mothers and extend maternity leave to 16 weeks in order to enhance their commitment and satisfaction.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0056/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Variation in child care access across neighborhood types: A two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) approach

Finding safe and high-quality child care is critical to working parents. However, research suggests that formal child care—both family child care and center-based child care—is in short supply in the U.S. We hypothesize that compared to urban neighborhoods, child care access will be lower in outlying suburban neighborhoods with newer and less developed social infrastructure. Applying the 2SFCA method, we predict variation in the supply of child care relative to demand—a measure of child care access—across California neighborhoods that vary by geography as well as sociodemographic and employment characteristics. Similar to prior research, we find that percent Latinx of a neighborhood is associated with lower child care access. In terms of neighborhood type, as we predict, we find that child care access is lower in newly developed suburban areas compared to most other neighborhood types. This finding suggests the importance of incentives to create formal child care facilities in new suburbs, neighborhoods that house a quarter of all young children in the state.

Characterization of size-differentiated airborne particulate matter collected from indoor environments of childcare facilities

Inhalation of particulate matter (PM) present in indoor atmospheres has been associated with poor health and wellbeing of occupants. Here we report the characteristics of airborne PM collected from twenty-two air-conditioned childcare centres in Singapore. Airborne PM were collected using cascade impactors and characterized for morphology, elemental composition, endotoxin levels, ability to generate abiotic reactive oxygen species, and oxidative stress-dependent cytotoxicity in BEAS-2B cell lines. The mass concentrations of ultrafine particles (PM0.06-1) were more abundant than that of larger particles (PM1-4, PM4-20, and PM20-35 particles). PM20-35 and PM4-20 were irregularly shaped particles, PM1-4 particles had membranous flaky structures and PM0.06-1 particles were pseudo-spherical with the occasional presence of crystalline structures. Carbonaceous matter dominated PM20-35 particles, and the abundance of inorganic salts, iron and sulfur increased with decreasing PM size. Measured endotoxin levels were especially higher in PM4-20 particles. Compared to other particle size fractions, PM0.06-1 particles generated the highest ROS and were also the most potent in generating intracellular ROS in BEAS-2B cell lines. However, total mass concentrations, elemental compositions, abiotic responses, and PM collected from centres with split air-conditioning systems and no active outdoor air supply (SAC) were not statistically different compared with PM collected from centres with air conditioning with mechanical ventilation (ACMV). In conclusion, our study showed obvious distinctions in mass concentrations, morphology, elemental compositions, and cytotoxic potential of different sized particles collected from childcare centres, where the smallest particles (PM0.06-1) exhibited higher hazard potential.

Family Needs Assessment of Patients with Cerebral Palsy Attending Two Hospitals in Accra, Ghana.

The family represents the most essential and supportive environment for children with cerebral palsy (CP). To improve children's outcomes, it is crucial to consider the needs of families in order to offer family-centered care, which tailors services to these needs. We conducted a needs assessment to identify the family needs of patients with CP attending two hospitals in Accra. The study was a cross-sectional study involving primary caregivers of children with CP attending neurodevelopmental clinics. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data spanning an 8-month period. The data were summarized, and statistical inference was made. Service needs identified were childcare, counseling, support groups, financial assistance, and recreational facilities. Information needs included adult education, job training/employment opportunities, education, health and social programs, knowledge about child development, and management of behavioral and feeding/nutrition problems. Reducing extensive travel time was desirable to improve access to healthcare. With the increasing severity of symptoms came the need for improved accessibility in the home to reduce the child's hardship, as well as assistive devices, recreational facilities, and respite for the caregiver(s). Families of children with CP have information, service, and access needs related to their disease severity and family context.

Child care fee abolition and female labor supply: Quasi‐experimental evidence from a developing country

AbstractThe paper studies the effects of abolishing fees in the public childcare facilities on the maternal labor supply and provides evidence from a post‐Soviet developing country, Armenia, characterized with low female labor force participation and high unemployment. The reform unexpectedly introduced only in the capital city created a natural experiment which we investigate using difference‐in‐differences methodology. The statistically significant increase of the childcare service utilization is shown to be affecting only marginally the maternal labor supply as measured by intention‐to‐treat effects. The positive results are more robust when only women actually utilizing the services are considered, but all the effects obtained fade out already in the second year after the reform. The robustness of our findings is tested by a series of placebo regressions.

Role of children’s polyclinic in primary prevention of diseases

Objective. To carry out a single-stage descriptive study of realizing preventive direction in the work of a childrens polyclinic in modern conditions. A modern trend of Russian medicine is its preventive direction. As a result of great modifications of the primary medico-social care during the recent years, there were formed structural departments dealing with the status of childrens health, medico-social problems, provision of sanitary and epidemiological conditions of child-care facilities in childrens polyclinics. Materials and methods. Using the example of a standard childrens polyclinic of the second level, the results of work of structural departments of childrens polyclinic involved in preventive work with child population are presented. Results. Realization of preventive directions in the work of pediatric and consultative-diagnostic departments and organization of medical care permitted to increase the share of preventive visits in 2022 to 47%, to ensure covering with preventive examinations up to 98-100%, vaccination 97% of the contingent. The level of sickness rate among infants under one year decreased by 25%. The department of medico-social care individually follows up children and their parents in difficult conditions of life. At the Center of Health, six types of screening investigations, individual recommendations regarding the formation of behavioral stereotypes for maintaining health are provided in childrens polyclinic. Conclusions. Organization of the structure and functional of modern childrens polyclinic provide an effective prevention of diseases and create optimal conditions for formation of childrens health, their physical and intellectual abilities, prevention of infectious and noninfectious diseases.

Impact of Playground Shade Structures on Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure and Physical Activity among Children at a Childcare Facility.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Canada, and rates continue to rise. While sunscreen and protective clothing remain critical strategies to reduce skin cancer risk, shade is generally the most effective way to control exposure. There remains a lack of data, particularly in British Columbia (BC), demonstrating the extent to which shade availability reduces ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure in a real-world setting and the potential impacts of shade provision on physical activity. We evaluated the impact of shade structures on UVR exposure and physical activity at a Vancouver-area childcare center with an outdoor play area with limited existing shade. 22 children, aged 3-5 years, participated in the study. Three removable shade sails were installed in the outdoor play space, and UVR and physical activity measurements were collected during the spring, summer, and fall months. Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation data was measured using UVB dosimeters, and physical activity data was measured using accelerometers. Data were collected during each season over a total of four days-two days with shade sails installed and two days with shade sails removed. Overall, with shade installation, UVR exposures and physical activity levels among children were reduced by 50% and 20%, respectively. This study supports the use of shade sails to significantly reduce UVR exposures among preschool-aged children in BC; however, the potential for decreased physical activity from shade sails should be further explored in future research.

Doctoral student's research productivity during COVID-19: the effect of gender, parenthood, and conscientiousness

ABSTRACT The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctoral students’ research productivity is examined with a special focus on gender, parenthood, and the personality trait conscientiousness. Data consist of 614 doctoral students active in medicine, technology, the natural sciences in Sweden. Results indicate that the overall research productivity of doctoral students has increased during COVID-19. It is tested if the observed increase in research productivity depends on gender, parenthood, or conscientiousness. Hypotheses regarding a pandemic penalty for women and parents are not supported. However, results indicate that conscientiousness had a positive effect on doctoral students’ research productivity during the pandemic. It is concluded that conscientiousness has been an important factor in determining the research productivity of doctoral students during COVID-19. The results are discussed with regard to the national context of Sweden, where schools, childcare facilities, and laboratories were open to a larger extent during COVID-19 compared with many other countries.

실러와 니체의 예술충동 이론과 인간중심 표현예술치료

The purpose of this study is to examine the meaning of borderline intelligence youth's experience in Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy programs based on the artistic drives of Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Nietzsche. The three participants experienced a total of eight expressive arts and then analyzed the meaning of the experience through in-depth interviews. In particular, since they are protected children in child care facilities, they have a strong initial resistance and low interpersonal skills. However, in this study, participants commonly accepted the expressive art experience as a meaning of self-understanding and acceptance as it is, and confidence to express themselves regardless of the gaze of others. Therefore, this study is expected to be of academic value in that the aesthetic experience of Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy shows the experience and meaning of awakening artistic drives in art impulse theory.

위기아동 보호를 위한 가정위탁제도의 활성화에 관한 연구

The home consignment system provides protection for children exposed to crisis for a certain period of time, and is a necessary system for children subject to crisis protection to live in foster homes for a certain period of time. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that from June 22, 2022, children subject to protection can be extended to 25 years old (to 24 years old) at their will, allowing them to enter society after fully preparing for self-reliance. Until now, children living in child care facilities had difficulty living alone at an early age, regardless of the degree of self-reliance preparation, except in some exceptional cases (schools below university, vocational education and training), and at the age of 18. With this revision, if the self-reliance ability is insufficient during the extension of the protection period, it is possible to determine whether to terminate the protection measures by comprehensively determining one's intention and level of self-reliance preparation. However, consignment families still lack childcare support funds, supply and demand costs far from reality, and supply and demand management systems. It is not easily accessible to general families, such as strict management of related agencies, notification of the return of supervisory agencies to the original course, qualification of foster families, screening, and management issues. It has been almost 20 years since the home consignment system was established, but it is still a big homework for us. The United States goes through complex procedures and screening to become a foster family, but because there is no social consensus on the importance of family consignment, it provides various social services to foster families such as housekeeper dispatch services, day care, and psychological counseling. The number of protected children is increasing rapidly due to repeated child abuse, and the difficulties of children already living in facilities have long been discussed. It is urgent to protect children in crisis by revitalizing the foster family system suitable for our reality.

The Effect of Childcare Facilities Spatial Definition Related to Child Development: A Literature Review

It is increasingly recognized that physical environment plays a key role in children’s cognitive and social development by providing opportunities for exploration and interaction. In this paper, five patterns of childcare spatial definition are summarized: openness and visibility, enclosure and private, variety and flexibility, concentration and separation, size and amount. And discussed two physical environment factors that affect children’s development: furniture and materials and spatial organization.

Human connections: intergenerational engagement, intentionality, and third places

ABSTRACT This article presents a study that focused on employees and their experiences of an intergenerational program with older adult volunteers in a child-care facility. The paper explores the intentional creation of third places and its contribution to the development and maintenance of relationships between child-care staff and volunteers. Findings from this study indicate that building respect, valuing commitment, and gaining enjoyment are vital aspects of the human connections that are established and nourished in third places.

名古屋市の学童保育所における移転・建替えにかかわる運営実態と環境変化

This study aims to clarify the issues regarding relocation and rebuilding by organizing the operation and environmental changes before and after relocation and rebuilding at after school childcare facility in Nagoya City. The results determined that it is difficult to secure a building that can be used for a long duration, problems differ depending on the building form before and after the relocation and rebuilding, and the rest room, storage, and exterior improvement are insufficient.

Children’s Daycare Services Facilities for Working Parents in the Job Sector in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study

Creating a supportive and welcoming working environment is crucial for organizations to ensure employee job satisfaction. The main objective of this study is to advocate for the state of daycare services in Bangladesh. In addition to this primary goal, the researcher will investigate factors influencing the daycare industry in Bangladesh and explore how daycare programs benefit working parents. This research adheres to systematic review standards by conducting a comprehensive search for relevant information, analyzing complete articles on knowledge management procedures, and presenting original findings. The researchers extensively examined most of the topics and aimed to identify any gaps in existing research. The study highlights the growing dependence on child care services in Bangladesh, which poses challenges for working parents due to the prevailing family structure. Furthermore, the current child care facilities do not meet parents' expectations in terms of provided amenities. The outcomes of this research will provide valuable support to working parents, organizations, and the daycare sector as a whole.

The COVID-19 pandemic-How did it affect the mental health of children?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had asubstantial impact on the daily life of children and adolescents due to lockdowns, contact restrictions, closings of childcare, schools and leisure facilities. This article examines the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents in Germany. In the population-based longitudinal COPSY study (COVID-19 and Psychological Health) 1600 parents of children aged 7-17 years old and 1000children and adolescents aged 11-17years old completed established questionnaires at 5 online survey points (t1: May and June 2020 to t5: September and October 2022). For comparison, pre-pandemic data were obtained from the representative BELLA study. During the pandemic the portion of children and adolescents, who reported alow health-related quality of life, increased from pre-pandemic 15% to 48% in the first year of the pandemic and improved in year3 to 27%. This is still substantially above pre-pandemic levels. Similar trajectories were found for mental health problems which rose from 18% (pre-pandemic) to 31% and improved in year3 to 23%. For anxiety and depression, the changes were similar except that depressive symptoms returned to pre-pandemic levels in year3. The physical activity of almost one third of the youth was still very low in year3. The mental health of children and adolescents was ignored during the pandemic for along time. Now support and allocation of funding is urgently needed to mitigate the negative mental health effects and prevent further impairment by new crises.

청소년 모험활동시설의 안전기준에 관한 연구

Currently, according to the Basic Law on Youth, the installation standards, operating standards, and safety standards for youth facilities are stipulated. However, while the standards for the installation of youth facilities are defined in relative detail, the operating standards do not have specific operating guidelines. In particular, the safety standards are very insufficient, and the personnel who operate and manage the cultivation facilities must set and operate the safety standards themselves, and the specific methods and inspection items have not been established. In addition, the installation standards for adventure facilities and outdoor facilities are not mentioned at all, and similar regulations include the standards for the installation of playgrounds under the Housing Construction Promotion Act and the Urban Parks Act, and the standards for infant and child care facilities under the Child Welfare Act and the Infant and Infant Care Act. These standards and safety provisions lack specificity and professionalism and are only at a declarative level, and are fundamental to amusement facilities, and no specific safety standards have been established. On the other hand, in developed countries such as the United States, Europe, and Australia, in order to ensure the safety of young people, their own safety standards are established that apply to amusement equipment and outdoor facilities such as schools, parks, and public facilities, and facilities are installed and operated in accordance with these relevant regulations, and the design and construction of facilities is carried out taking into account the age group of each facility. Therefore, this study intends to present an overall, holistic framework for the adventure facilities that are currently installed in or may be introduced in the future. To this end, this study included not only the adventure facilities installed in the youth residency facilities, but also various amusement facilities and outdoor facilities in Korea.

Defecation Habits in Preschoolers Are Associated with Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional and Isotemporal Substitution Analysis.

There is a lack of research on the relationship between defecation habits (DF) and physical activity (PA) in preschoolers. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between sedentary behaviour (SB), PA time, and DF in preschoolers and to estimate the effect of DF replacement in an isotemporal substitution (IS) model. The participants included 166 children (aged 4-6 years) attending childcare facilities. PA was measured using an accelerometer to calculate the daily activity and wearing time for SB, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). DF were classified based on defecation frequency and timing. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used for the IS model. One-way analysis of variance detected significant differences in MVPA between the DF groups (F(2) = 3.12, p < 0.05). According to the analysis results of the IS model, replacing 5 min of SB with MVPA resulted in improved DF (odds ratio [OR], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81-0.97). Conversely, replacing 5 min of MVPA with SB worsened DF (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.23). The findings suggest that PA is associated with DF among preschoolers. It also indicates that replacing SB with MVPA could help improve DF in children.

Changes in behavior and quality of life in German young children during the COVID-19 pandemic-results from the COVID kids bavaria study.

The COVID-19 pandemic with its containment measures such as closures of schools and daycare facilities led to numerous restrictions in daily life, putting developmental opportunities and health-related quality of life in children at risk. However, studies show that not every family was impacted equally by the pandemic and that this exceptional health and societal situation reinforced pre-existing health inequalities among the vulnerable. Our study aimed at analyzing changes in behavior and health-related quality of life of children attending elementary schools and daycare facilities in Bavaria, Germany in spring 2021. We also sought to identify associated factors contributing to inequalities in quality of life. Data from a multi-center, open cohort study ("COVID Kids Bavaria") conducted in 101 childcare facilities and 69 elementary schools across all electoral districts of Bavaria were analyzed. Children attending these educational settings (aged 3-10 years) were eligible for participation in a survey on changes in behavior and health-related quality of life. The KINDLR questionnaire (based on children's self-report and parental report) was administered about one year after the onset of the pandemic (spring 2021). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses and comparisons to pre-pandemic KiGGS (German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents) data were undertaken. Among respondents, a high percentage of parents reported changes in their children's eating and sleeping behavior, sports and outdoor activities as well as altered screen time. Health-related quality of life in KINDLR analyses compared to pre-pandemic population averages were lower in all age groups (for 3-6-year-old KINDLR-total score: COVID Kids Bavaria MD 74.78 ± 10.57 vs KiGGS data 80.0 ± 8.1; 7-10 years-old KINDLR-total score: COVID Kids Bavaria MD 73.88 ± 12.03 vs KiGGS data 79.30 ± 9.0). No significant differences were detected with regard to associated factors, namely type of institution, sex of the child, migration background, household size and parental education. These findings suggest a relevant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's behavior and health-related quality of life one year after the onset of the pandemic. Further analyses in large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to determine the effects of specific pandemic or crisis associated factors contributing to health inequalities.

보육교사의 총근무시간과 스트레스 반응에 따른 휴게시간의 매개효과

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between working hours, break time, and stress response among childcare teachers. We hypothesized that break time could help alleviate the negative impact of long working hours on stress levels among childcare teachers. We measured stress response across four sub-dimensions: emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and physical. We collected data from 362 childcare teachers working in various daycare centers (e.g., national and corporate, private and home day care centers) in the Gyeonggi-do area. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and a stepwise regression model using SPSS 28 and JAMOVI. Our results show that working hours were positively associated with all four dimensions of stress response, indicating that longer working hours can lead to increased stress in all domains. However, when we included break time in the analysis, the association between working hours and behavioral/physical stress response was no longer significant. For emotional and cognitive stress response, the working hour coefficient remained significant but decreased in magnitude. Additionally, we found a direct negative effect of break time on stress, suggesting that taking breaks can help alleviate stress across all four dimensions. The results of this study are meaningful in that they provided basic data and ideas on the direction of institutional development for this, hoping that the need for rest time and the working environment for childcare facilities will be re-examined.

Changes in UK pre-schooler's mental health symptoms overthe first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: Data from Co-SPYCE study.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to the lives of children and their families. Pre-school children may have been particularly vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic, with the closure of childcare facilities, playgrounds, playcentres and parent and toddler groups limiting their opportunities for social interaction at a crucial stage of development. Additionally, for parents working from home, caring for pre-school aged children who require high levels of support and care, was likely challenging. We conducted an intensive longitudinal, but not nationally representative, study to examine trajectories of pre-schoolers' mental symptoms in the United Kingdom during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. UK-based parents and carers (n=1520) of pre-school-aged children (2-4years) completed monthly online surveys about their pre-schoolers' mental health between April 2020 and March 2021. The survey examined changes in children's emotional symptoms, conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention. In our final mixed-effects models, our predictors (fixed effects) accounted for 5% of the variance in each of conduct problems, emotional symptoms and hyperactivity/inattention symptoms scores, and the combined random and fixed effects accounted for between 64% and 73% of the variance. Pre-schoolers' emotional problems and hyperactivity/inattention symptoms declined from April through summer 2020 and then increased again during the autumn and winter 2020/2021 as lockdowns were re-introduced. Pre-schoolers who attended childcare showed greater decline in symptom severity than those who did not. Older children, compared to younger, showed greater lability of emotion symptom severity. Attending childcare predicted lower symptom severity across all three domains of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and hyperactivity/inattention, while the opposite pattern was observed for children whose parent had a mental health problem. Our findings reinforce the importance of examining pre-schoolers' mental health in the context of micro and macro-level factors. Interventions focussing on family factors such as parent mental health, as well as continued provision of childcare, may have most potential to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on young children's mental health.