PURPOSE
This study was conducted to identify current health care management and barriers in health care management according to ecological systems, and to develop an ecological model for enhancing health care in child care centers.
METHODS
Focus group interviews were conducted with directors and teachers of child care centers, and with parents of children enrolled in child care. Data were analyzed by the latent content analysis method.
RESULTS
Twelve categories of health care management were identified. Barriers to child health care included knowledge deficit and lack of competence in health care by teachers, lack of useful health care manuals, non-existence of professional child health care personnel in child care centers, lack of mutual information sharing and disagreement on child health conditions between child care personnel and parents, lack of specific health related child care inspection criteria and time flexible child care centers with a lack of policy on collaboration with health care facilities. The ecological model developed included specific strategies to improve health care management in child care.
CONCLUSION
The proposed ecological model to improve child health care management should be useful to plan future health care program considering both the immediate and indirect social environment surrounding children in child care.

Citations

• Κλίμακα αξιολόγησης της σχολικής ετοιμότητας για παιδιά προσχολικής ηλικίας 5-6 ετών: κατασκευή και ψυχομετρικά χαρακτηριστικά
  Δέσποινα Τσαούση, Ασημίνα M. Ράλλη, Πέτρος Ρούσσος, Φαίη Αντωνίου
  Psychology: the Journal of the Hellenic Psychologi.2023; 28(1): 292.     CrossRef

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to describe current status in management of children with atopic dermatitis and to examine knowledge and care practices of preschool teachers.
METHODS
A survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted. Knowledge and practice were measured with the questionnaire by Park (2011). Data were analysed using SPSS.WIN 20.0.
RESULTS
Of the teachers, 81.3% managed children with atopic dermatitis depending on parents' needs and 58.9% reported difficulties due to limited knowledge and expressed a need for continuing education and provision of educational guidelines. Preschool teachers had a mean score for knowledge about atopic dermatitis of .75 out of 1 point. Among three domains of knowledge, signs & symptoms had the highest score and management, the lowest. The mean score for care practices for children with atopic dermatitis was 3.4 out of 4 points. Among the four domains of care practices, food had the highest score and dress & bedclothes, the lowest. Knowledge and practice of the teachers were different according to responsibility in management and educational need. The correlation between knowledge and practice was not significant.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that educational programs and strategies should be developed to increase preschool teachers' knowledge and improve care practice for children with atopic dermatitis.