Health assessment in child care centers: parent and staff perceptions

The purpose of this study was to identify preschool children's health needs in child care centers, as perceived by parents and staff.

A Health Care Services Assessment was completed by 55 parents and 13 staff in four urban child care centers to identify the health services needed and children's common health problems.

The majority (69%) of the parents and staff reported that onsite health services were needed at least once a week. Helpful health services were identified as screening exams for respiratory illnesses (88%), other illnesses (87%), developmental problems (51%), and children with special needs (50%). The most commonly identified child health problems were colds (93%) and ear infections (75%).

These findings indicate that efforts to protect the health of preschool children in child care centers might best begin with health services focused on prevention, such as screening children for illnesses and providing information on infection control.