Demand For Child Care Research Articles

Characteristics and influencing factors of caregivers’ healthcare preferences for young children under COVID-19 lockdown: a cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China

BackgroundMissed or delayed child healthcare caused by the COVID-19 lockdown has threatened young children’s health and has had an unpredictable influence on caregivers’ child healthcare preferences. This study investigated caregivers’ child healthcare preferences and the factors that influence them among families with young children (0–3 years) during the lockdown in Shanghai.MethodsParticipants in this cross-sectional study were enrolled through random encounter sampling. Questionnaires were distributed online from June 1 to November 10, 2022, in Shanghai. A total of 477 valid questionnaires were received. The demographics of caregivers and their families, children’s characteristics, COVID-19-related information, and caregivers’ healthcare preferences were analyzed. The statistical analyses included frequency and percentage, chi-square tests, and multinomial logistic regression.ResultsCaregivers preferred child healthcare professionals in the community health service system (CHS; 47.6%) followed by hospital pediatricians (40.0%) during lockdown. Caregivers with the following characteristics preferred CHS: those with an annual household income of CNY 200,000–300,000, those whose youngest children were aged 8–12 months, and those who experienced early childhood physical development issues. Caregivers preferred hospitals if they had experienced healthcare-seeking-related difficulties in accessing professional guidance from hospital pediatricians.ConclusionsDuring pandemic lockdowns, policymakers should allocate more resources to CHS to meet caregivers’ childcare demands. Moreover, special attention should be given to the healthcare needs for CHS among families with specific demographics.Trial registrationApproval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine School of Public Health (SJUPN-202,109; June 1, 2022).

Accessing and experiencing higher education: young fathers in the UK

ABSTRACT Young fathers often view studying in HE positively, and perceive the benefits to include improving self-confidence, reconnecting with lost learning opportunities, building better career prospects, and becoming a better role model for their children. However, despite these perceived benefits, not all young fathers decide to study in HE. The financial burden of course fees are often prohibitive and some young fathers do not want to risk losing income or interrupting their existing careers. They face challenges such as knowing what HE opportunities are available and experience difficulties in navigating the application process. Others feel that they are not sufficiently qualified to study at a higher level. For those young fathers who do go on to study, they may also experience difficulties entering and sustaining their HE journey. Once enrolled, common challenges include the demands of childcare, financial pressures, and well-being concerns. To complicate matters, young fathers rarely seek out support from HE providers or other formal services. With the educational outcomes of young fathers being a cause for concern and due to the hidden nature of this group who are largely absent from statistics, this qualitative study draws attention to this under-researched area and guides future policy and practice.

Alleinerziehende in der Betreuungsplatzvergabe: Status quo und Handlungsempfehlungen

Abstract Single parents and their children benefit particularly from early childhood education and childcare programmes. Nevertheless, almost a third of single parents in Germany who need childcare for their children under the age of three are unable to find it. Although around 70 % of day care providers claim to take the single-parent criterion into account when allocating slots, the prevailing allocation procedures cannot guarantee that this is implemented. This article shows how transparent allocation criteria can be designed nationwide and how their implementation can be realised through suitable, centralised, municipal allocation systems. Particularly in (western) German regions with a high unmet demand for institutional childcare, single-parent status should be considered as an independent criterion in addition to other factors such as employment and child age.

Meeting increasing childcare demands: Can childminders help?

Dr Antonia Simon, associate professor and Lynn Ang, professor of Early Childhood Education, Pro-Director and Vice-Dean Research at UCL Institute of Education, discuss the fall in the number of childminders. They outline how this group of early years educators is an important part of meeting future demand for places in the sector, given the Government's offer of ‘free’ education and care for children of working parents.

Addressing the Community Resource and Social Service Needs of Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Home Visiting Staff and Clients in Georgia.

Home visiting programs provide support services to families and their children to promote positive health outcomes. This study sought to describe strategies employed by home visiting programs during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to address the community resource and social service needs of home visiting clients in Georgia. We conducted a mixed methods study between December 2020 and April 2021 using online surveys and key informant interviews of home visiting staff and clients from 21 program sites. Structured content analysis was conducted of the triangulated data to elicit thematic findings. Due to the pandemic-induced economic conditions, clients expressed increased demand for housing, employment, and childcare support services. Staff experienced challenges with client referrals to these services because of interruptions in social service availability and transitions to virtual services. In response to these challenges, home visiting programs strengthened existing community partnerships and created new collaborations with local agencies to fill any gaps in services. Home visiting programs in Georgia provided critical linkages to community resources for families during the early phase of the pandemic. Preserving this essential home visiting service in future national emergencies will require improved coordination of community resources and social services.

Employees’ preferred extent for working from home – relationships with emotional job and childcare demands

PurposeTo better understand employees’ preferred extent for working from home (WFH) setting that implies physical distance from clients and co-workers and enhanced physical proximity to others at home, this study, relying on job-demands resources (J-DR) theory, aims to investigate the relationships between this preference with both the perceived increase in emotional job demands and the exposure to childcare demands. Thus, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of perceived job difficulty in the relationship between emotional job demands and the preferred extent for WFH, and the moderating role of gender in the relationship between the number of children and the preferred extent for WFH.Design/methodology/approachA total of 239 employees who began WFH during the pandemic completed an online survey. Structural equation modelling was conducted to analyse the data and test the hypotheses.FindingsAs expected, an increase in emotional job demands had a significant negative indirect association with the preferred extent for WFH, through perceived increase in job difficulty. Furthermore, the number of children was negatively related to the preferred extent for WFH among male but not female employees.Practical implicationsThe findings provide insights for promoting employees’ preferred extent for WFH.Originality/valueThe study points to a relationship between emotional job demands and employee attitudes towards WFH in terms of increased job difficulty and the preferred extent for WFH. It also points to the need to investigate the interaction between sex and number of children to understand employees’ preferred extent for WFH.

Impact of childhood and adolescence cancer on family caregivers: a qualitative analysis of strains, resources and coping behaviours

BackgroundThe physical demands of caring for children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer, over a lengthy period, exert significant strain on the health and well-being of family caregivers. The capacity of family caregivers to surmount and cope with the various strains they experience due to the diagnosis and treatment trajectory is essential to the quality of life of the child and adolescent who has been diagnosed with cancer. However, the experiences of family caregivers have been under-explored. This study explored the strains, resources, and coping strategies of family caregivers of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer in Ghana.MethodsGuided by a descriptive phenomenological design, 20 semi-structured interviews with family caregivers were conducted at a tertiary health facility that provides paediatric oncology services. The study was conducted between June and October 2022. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, translated and coded using NVivo software. An inductive thematic analysis approach using Vaismoradi et al.’s thematic analysis framework was followed in analysing the data.ResultsThe study revealed that family caregivers of children diagnosed with cancer experienced three main strains: somatic strains (poor sleep quality, loss of appetite, and unintended weight loss), economic strains (financial burden and loss of economic livelihood), and psychosocial strains (isolation from social activities and network, frustration and helplessness, and balancing multiple family needs). The following themes emerged as coping resources: family cohesiveness, community support, and support from health care providers. Coping strategies that emerged included trusting in God and being self-motivated.ConclusionThe study concludes that family caregivers experience somatic, economic, and psychosocial strains. However, they can leverage available resources (family cohesiveness, community support, and support from healthcare providers) to cope with these strains. There is a need to educate and sensitize family caregivers about the potential strains that they are likely to experience prior to the assumption of care roles. Also, the formal inclusion of non-governmental organizations and religious bodies will ensure that family caregivers receive sufficient community support to cope with the strains of caregiving.

Navigating the terrain of caregiving of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: importance of benefit finding and optimism

Empirical studies have indicated that benefit finding and optimism greatly help caregivers of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Specifically, it has been suggested that these two constructs serve as critical coping strategies for those engaged in the caregiving process. Here, a qualitative study was undertaken to explore the impacts of benefit finding and optimism on caregivers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Malaysia. Twenty (20) caregivers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities were interviewed concerning their perception and use of benefit finding and optimism. Results identified these strategies as supporting and guiding caregiving responsibilities and skills, improving personal growth, relationships and spirituality, as well as increasing positive perceptions. Therefore, policymakers and stakeholders in Malaysia should implement targeted interventions to facilitate and support caregivers in applying benefit-finding and optimism in their caregiving, thereby assisting them to better cope with the physical and mental demands of caring for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Constructing a transnational childcare bricolage: Chinese migrant families in Italy coordinating transnational mobility and childcare

ABSTRACT Research on the childcare arrangements of migrant families has primarily focused on transnational childcare practices or childcare-work reconciliation in the host society, without paying appropriate attention to the dynamic and complex negotiation processes that underlie mobility-childcare coordination. This study proposes the concept of transnational childcare bricolage to explore how Chinese migrant families in Italy mobilize and (re)assemble transnationally located and/or unconventional resources and constantly (re)adjust childcare arrangements to achieve a nuanced match between evolving childcare demand and capacity. The study draws on in-depth interviews with members from 50 Chinese migrant families in Italy, as well as participant observation and multi-sited ethnographic observation. Through analyses of their mobility-childcare negotiation processes, we illustrate how migrant families from different social class backgrounds navigate the complexities and contingencies embedded within a family-state-transnational triad. Additionally, our research questions the ethnicized division of care work between migrants and natives, highlighting common experiences of marginalization and work-care tensions faced by women of similar socio-economic positioning, regardless of their ethnicity and/or nationality.

An Empirical Assessment of the Drivers of Formal and Informal Childcare Demand in European Countries

An Empirical Assessment of the Drivers of Formal and Informal Childcare Demand in European Countries

Academic profile of Chinese economists: Productivity, pay, time use, gender differences, and impacts of COVID-19

Using two waves of surveys (2019 and 2021) among Chinese economists with support from the Chinese Economists Society (CES), we capture a current profile of Chinese academic economists on their demographics, education, academic rank, wage, time use, research interests, and productivity. Our data reveal many similarities among those employed in China and overseas, with statistically significant differences in pay and teaching load. More profound disparities lie in gender comparisons, with findings echoing the recent trend in the overall economics profession, including career advancement challenges for women and lower pay for female economists, among others. Finally, this paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese economists. Comparing their time allocation with that before the pandemic suggests male economists with children were able to spend slightly more time per workday on research and leisure during the pandemic. On the contrary, female economists with children reduced time for research to cope with the increased demand for childcare.

Nawalang Ilaw ng Tahanan:

The Philippines belongs to Southeast Asia and is rich in natural resources. However, it remains a developing country, with globalization and neoliberal policies paralyzing its industries and damaging its environmental resources to prioritize foreign interests (Velasco 2002). With a lack of national industries, the Philippine government implemented a labor export policy favorable to developed countries such as Canada, whose demand for domestic work, childcare, and eldercare expanded. In the 1980s, Canada’s Foreign Domestic Movement (FDM) Program allowed migrant workers to gain permanent residency status (Velasco 2002; Cohen 2000). FDM was replaced by the Live-in Care Giver (LCP) Program by 1992, and during this period the Philippines became among the top sources of laborers to Canada (Bonifacio 2008). The seemingly mutually beneficial setup between the two countries inevitably treated these human beings as commodities, with the laborers also racialized, thereby devoid of rights typically afforded to other migrant workers of European descent. The migration process was also gendered since most caregivers were women, depicting care work as feminized. This paper entitled: Ang Nawalang Ilaw ng Tahanan: Examining the Lived Experiences of Filipino Women in the Live-In Caregiver Program (Trans: The Missing Light of the Home) attempts to shed light on the experiences of Filipino caregivers who worked under the Live-In Caregiver Program. Most importantly, it investigates the interlocking issues of race, ethnicity, and gender and how these became tools of oppression for these Filipino women.

Czech Parents Under Lockdown: Different Positions, Different Temporalities

Using an intersectional approach, we explore how parents in the Czech Republic coped with the increased demands of childcare and how their perceptions of childcare changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on Nancy Fraser’s theory of the social contradiction of capitalism, we address the question of whether the pandemic situation can be viewed as an opportunity to increase recognition of care. Qualitative interviews with parents from various socioeconomic backgrounds conducted from spring 2020 to summer 2021 demonstrate ambivalent experiences of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first school closure in spring 2020 was perceived as a rather positive interruption to everyday affairs. As the pandemic became protracted, the long-term negative effects of care under lockdown arose, especially among mothers, which included weakening labour market position, deteriorating economic situation, and growing dependence on a male breadwinner or social welfare. Our research shows the temporality of the COVID-19 care crisis. In the first stage of the pandemic, care was (also) assessed as an opportunity, a source of purpose, and a new value. In the next period, the experiences and expectations were rather negative. Over time, gender inequality at home increased as women took on most of the increased care burden and the social inequalities deepened, with some using their resources to compensate for the risks associated with the care crisis and others facing further exhaustion and income losses. Overall, parental care did not win greater societal recognition during the pandemic.

Disruptions in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Service Delivery for Immigrants During COVID-19.

To provide perspectives from heterogenous cisgender immigrant women and service providers for immigrants in New York City (NYC) on how restrictive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care delivery environments during COVID-19 shape immigrant's access to health care and health outcomes to generate insights for clinical practices and policies for immigrant women's health care needs. A qualitative study was conducted in 2020 and 2021, including in-depth interviews with 44 immigrant women from different national origins and 19 direct service providers for immigrant communities in NYC to explore how immigrants adapted to and were impacted by pandemic-related SRH care service delivery barriers. Interviews were coded and analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Pandemic-related delays and interrupted health care, restrictive accompaniment policies, and the transition from in-person to virtual care compounded barriers to care for immigrant communities. Care delays and interruptions forced some participants to live with untreated health conditions, resulting in physical pain and emotional distress. Participants also experienced challenges within the health care system because of changes to visitor policies that restricted the accompaniment of family members or support persons. Some participants experienced difficulties accessing telehealth and technology, while others welcomed the flexibility given the demands of frontline work and childcare. To mitigate the health and social implications of increasingly restrictive immigration, reproductive, and social policies, clinical practices like expanding access to care for all immigrants, engaging immigrant communities in health care institutions policies and practices, and integrating immigrant's support networks into care play an important role.

Association of motor performance of children with cerebral palsy and burnout level of their informal caregivers in an African community.

The demands of caring for children with cerebral palsy (CWCP) may lead to burnout among the informal caregivers of these children. However, this subject area has not received significant research attention in Nigeria. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between burnout level of informal caregivers of CWCP and the motor performance of the CWCP. The association between burnout level of the informal caregivers and selected clinical variables of CWCP was also investigated. This is a descriptive study of 75 consecutively-sampled informal caregivers (34.76±8.7 years) of CWCP and an equal number of their CWCP. Burnout level of the caregivers and motor performance of the CWCP were assessed using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Questionnaire (GMFCSFQ) respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse results at alpha = 0.05. There was a statistically significant positive association between the CBI scores and the GMFCSFQ scores (p < 0.05). Age of the CWCP as well as type and topography of the cerebral palsy were not significantly associated with the caregivers' burnout level. Similarly, the age and sex of the caregivers had no statistically significant association with their burnout level (p > 0.05). Caregiving for children with lower motor performance is associated with higher burnout among caregivers. This may impact negatively on the overall health of the caregivers and the quality of care for the CWCP.

'Being a mother is not child's play': The capabilities of mothers in a low-resource setting in South Africa.

The importance of a child's first 1000 days has now been widely accepted by the medical fraternity. Yet, we do not know much about caring practices in low-resource settings. This study aimed to investigate the caring capabilities of mothers in a low-resource setting. In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 mothers with children aged 30 months or younger to better understand the arrangements, means and ends that inform developmental health in a low-resource setting in South Africa. The study was conducted in a low-income area, the former black township of Mangaung in Bloemfontein. The mothers were recruited via pamphlets, and two interviews followed. Because of Covid-19, interviews took place via mobile phones, in Sesotho, the local language in the area. Trained fieldworkers conducted, translated and transcribed the interviews. We used thematic analysis and the capabilities approach as the theoretical framework to analyse the responses from the mothers. We used the following organizing themes: pregnancy and ante-natal care, nutrition, cognitive and physical development, the home environment and access to health care. Although short-term reactions to pregnancy were often negative, the longer-term responses showed that the respondents have agency. Most of them could change their nutrition habits, breastfeed and receive adequate nutrition support from the public health system. Most experienced joy when their children reached milestones (cognitive and others), although they became anxious if milestones were not reached. They emphasized children's play and had dreams for their children's futures. Technology was often mentioned as playing a role in their children's development. A large proportion of the respondents had disrupted homes (because of absent or abusive fathers), but some had stable homes. Most of them showed substantial capability to overcome adverse home environments. The public health system helped them deal with their health problems and their children's health problems, although it also created anxiety in many cases. Our data show how they develop their capabilities and overcome obstacles organically in the face of resource limitations. Despite pregnancies being unexpected and unplanned and fathers being absent, the respondents accepted the pregnancy, adjusted their diets and social behaviour, showed agency by attending primary healthcare facilities and ensured that their children received the required vaccinations. Their extended families played an important role in providing care. Despite the sacrifices, the respondents expressed joy and helped their children function by eating, playing, socializing, learning and using their senses. Our sample of mothers have the agency to adapt to the demands of parenthood and childcare and overcome adversity. Our data support the notion that mothers are held disproportionately and unfairly responsible for achieving the first 1000 days ideals. Despite considerable curtailment of their functionings and capabilities, they nevertheless showed agency to ensure their health and their children's health. A holistic approach should consider these findings in designing policy interventions for children's developmental health. We used paid fieldworkers to interact with the research participants.

Factors Associated With the Initiation and Retention of Patients With Lupus in the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is designed to enhance patients' self-efficacy and skills to manage their chronic illness. There is compelling evidence for the benefits of the CDSMP among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, little is known about predictors of participation among Black women with SLE. We examined factors associated with CDSMP initiation and completion in this population. We studied 228 Black women with SLE who consented to attend a CDSMP workshop. We used logistic regression to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for being a CDSMP initiator (a participant registered into the CDSMP who attended at least 1 of the first 2 weekly classes) and a CDSMP completer (a participant who completed at least 4 of 6 weekly classes). The majority of participants were CDSMP initiators (74% [n=168]). Of those, 126 (75%) were CDSMP completers. Older age (adjusted OR [ORadj ] 1.03 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.00-1.06]) and unemployment/disability (ORadj 2.05 [95% CI 1.05-4.14]) increased the odds of being a CDSMP initiator. The odds of initiating the CDSMP decreased by 22% for each additional child in the household (OR 0.78 [95% CI 0.62-0.98]), but this association became nonsignificant in the adjusted model (ORadj 0.89 [95% CI 0.68-1.18]). The only factor that differed significantly between CDSMP completers and noncompleters was age, with 4% higher odds of being a completer for each additional year of age (ORadj 1.04 [95% CI 1.00-1.07]). Our findings suggest that young Black women with SLE face barriers to attend and complete in-person CDSMP workshops, possibly in relation to work and child care demands.

Who is doing the chores and childcare in dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 era of working from home?

In 2020-21, parents' work-from-home days increased three-and-a-half-fold following the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns compared to 2015-19. At the same time, many schools offered virtual classrooms and daycares closed, increasing the demand for household-provided childcare. Using weekday workday time diaries from American Time Use Survey and looking at parents in dual-earner couples, we examine parents' time allocated to paid work, chores, and childcare in the COVID-19 era by the couple's joint work location arrangements. We determine the work location of the respondent directly from their diary and predict the partner's work-from-home status. Parents working from home alone spent more time on childcare compared to their counterparts working on-site, though only mothers worked fewer paid hours. When both parents worked from home compared to on-site, mothers and fathers maintained their paid hours and spent more time on childcare, though having a partner also working from home reduced child supervision time. On the average day, parents working from home did equally more household chores, regardless of their partner's work-from-home status; however, on the average school day, only fathers working from home alone spent more time on household chores compared to their counterparts working on-site. We also find that mothers combined paid work and child supervision to a greater extent than did fathers.

Work-From-Home Provides Benefits to Family and Workplace that Impact on Job Satisfaction: An Evidence from Bangladesh

Work-from-home is not a new concept, but following COVID-19, many employees have become accustomed to this way of employment. A deeper understanding of work-from-home way to affects job satisfaction is necessary as to increase the satisfaction level of those people specially who are working from home. This study compiles information from 100 Bangladeshi employees of various organizations. A survey questionnaire was sent to study the association between seven work and family-related categories and the probability with which employees are satisfied with the possibility of working from home. Analysis of 100 observations at the level of the person reveals significant disparities in job satisfaction between firms and for work and family related domains. Employees reported increased levels of satisfaction with their physical and mental health stress reduction, child care and parental demand fulfillment and overall satisfaction. In addition, the data reveal intriguing variances due to family and employment-related characteristics. Undoubtedly, these insights can assist policymakers in enhancing employment routes for people from different organization. The current research has improved the understanding of work-from-home how may influence job satisfaction concerning the various works and family aspects.

Dopady pandemie na sólo rodiče a jejich potřebu neformální pomoci

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the work, personal, and family lives of all Czechs. In this regard, single parents are one of the most vulnerable groups. They are very frequent recipients of external support, provided by the state or by grandparents. Government restrictions, accompanied by, among other things, reduced availability of institutional childcare services, have significantly increased parents’ demand for informal childcare. However, grandparents have not been able to fully satisfy this demand. Within the proposed typology, the so-called risk group of single parents who did not receive the required childcare support concerning school preparation or free time, as well financial or material help, was identified. The size of this group grew during the pandemic. According to regression analysis, parents of preschool and younger school children, working in precarious forms of work, in a low-income situation, and/or in rental housing, were at higher risk of falling into the group of single parents who need informal support