Frequency of public child care service use and associated factors.

OBJECTIVE

Assess the maternal socio-demographic factors associated with the frequency of use of child care services by low income families.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of 393 children between 12 and 16 months old who participated in a randomized field trial during their first year of life in a program of nutritional intervention. The study began in the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saúde, SUS) of the maternity hospital in the city of São Leopoldo, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Children were examined regarding child care follow-up and vaccination schedule by checking the immunization chart. Data were analyzed using statistical tests Pearson's chi square and prevalence ratio (PR) with respective 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

The frequency of children who were not continuously taken to the child care service was 53.2%. Multivariate analysis suggests that the factors associated with the lack of continuous use of the service were: mother's educational level

CONCLUSION

The high frequency of children who were not taken to the child health care service for follow-up is associated with low maternal educational level and family structure, as well as the perception that follow-up visits are not necessary when the child does not have a disease.