Inter-Regional Differences in Travel Time to the Nearest Nursery for Children with Mild Acute Illness in Japan

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Accessibility
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Working parents in Japan face challenges as most nursery schools do not admit children with mild illnesses.
• Access to day-care services for mildly ill children is crucial for parental employment and child well-being.
• Previous analyses have not adequately addressed travel time as an accessibility metric for these facilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the practical accessibility of day-care services for children with mild acute illnesses in Japan.
• To quantify the percentage of the child population with access to these services based on travel time and linear distance.
• To identify regional disparities in accessibility to these essential childcare services.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a car navigation algorithm to calculate travel times to nurseries offering care for mildly ill children.
• Compared travel time accessibility (within 15-30 minutes) with linear distance (within 10 km).
• Analyzed data for 4,987,706 children under 5 years old in Japan as of 2015.

Main Results:

• 51.7% of children under 5 could access the nearest sick child nursery within 0-15 minutes by car.
• 81.5% of children had access within 0-30 minutes by car, mirroring the percentage within a 10 km linear distance.
• Accessibility was higher in densely populated regions (Kanto, Kinki) compared to less populated areas (Hokkaido, Tohoku).

Conclusions:

• A significant majority of Japanese children can access sick child day-care within a reasonable travel time.
• Regional disparities in access exist, potentially impacting equitable care distribution.
• Ensuring equal access nationwide is important, given government subsidies for these services.