Gender equality in Swedish child health centers: An analysis of their physical environments and parental behaviors

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this study is to investigate the level of gender equality within the Swedish child health centers' (CHCs) waiting rooms.A total of 31 CHCs waiting rooms were analyzed using semiotic visual analysis to explore who the waiting rooms represented by coding the pictures, brochures, and magazines by gender using a manifest analysis, where the researchers coded what the pictures physically entailed, and a latent analysis, where the meaning of those pictures was discerned. In addition, 281 parental observations were completed at 25 of the CHCs by two observers. Inter-rater reliability was established and consensus was reached by using prescribed definitions of the waiting rooms.Only 8 CHCs were categorized as Family-Centered, while 12 were Mother-Child Centered, 6 Child-Centered, 2 Women-Centered, and 3 were Neutral environments. The different designs between the categorized waiting rooms affected fathers', but not the mothers' involvement with respect to playing with their child and reading the posted information. When analyzing within one categorized environment, fathers were more likely to play with their child compared to mothers.CHCs should consciously redesign their environments to also be inclusive of fathers so that they more habitually participate in their child's health.