Frequency of public child care service use and associated factors

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• Sociology

Background:

• Child healthcare services are crucial for early detection and prevention of diseases.
• Socio-demographic factors significantly influence healthcare access and utilization among low-income families.
• Understanding barriers to consistent child care follow-up is essential for improving child health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess maternal socio-demographic factors associated with the frequency of child care service utilization in low-income families.
• To identify key determinants affecting consistent follow-up care for young children.
• To inform public health interventions aimed at improving child healthcare access.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 393 children aged 12-16 months in Brazil.
• Data collected during a nutritional intervention field trial.
• Statistical analysis included Pearson's chi-square and prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals.

Main Results:

• Over half (53.2%) of children were not continuously taken to child care services.
• Maternal education level (≤8 years), non-nuclear family structure, and not being an only child were associated with lack of continuous service use.
• Mothers cited perceived lack of necessity (66.2%) and service-related issues (21.7%) as primary reasons for non-adherence.

Conclusions:

• Low maternal educational attainment and non-traditional family structures are significant barriers to consistent child healthcare follow-up.
• The perception that routine child health visits are unnecessary for healthy children contributes to low service utilization.
• Targeted interventions addressing maternal education and service accessibility are needed to improve child health monitoring.