The Benefits and Issues Regarding Sick Child Care Services in Double Income Nuclear Families with Children

Abstract

Purpose: As the benefits of sick child care services are usually evaluated based on parents’ work-related views, very few studies have reported those on health recovery or parenting of sick children. This study investigated the usage and evaluation of sick child care services in double-income nuclear families, in order to clarify their benefits and issues. Methods: This study used a qualitative and descriptive approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted involving 27 mothers of double-income nuclear families after obtaining their written consent.The survey consisted of: the age and number of children, child-raising status, strategies to cope with children’s illness, and usage and needs of sick child care services and pediatric emergency medical care services. Results: The mothers of double-income nuclear families worked with hope of self-realization. They used sick child care services to balance their child-raising and career in a situation where there is no one to rely on. By experiencing positive reactions and early recovery of their children, the mothers developed a sense of security and trust towards high quality medical, nursing, and child nursery care of the service and childcare education provided to mothers. On the other hand, they desired improvement with regard to expensive care fees, short-hours of service, and the capacity to accept children, as well as the operation of transportation service from nursery school to the sick child care facility Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated that sick child care services were beneficial in promoting healthy recovery of children and for improving childcare skills of mothers of doubleincome nuclear families. The results also suggest the need to develop measures based on the needs of sick child care users.