Health Education and Health Care in Daycare Centers for Preschoolers

Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the needs of teachers in daycare centers for preschoolers in providing health education and health care services and to identify competencies and barriers to health education among the teachers. Method: A total of 410 teachers from 496 public daycare centers were recruited. Participating daycare centers were selected using a stratified sampling method. Data were collected from June to August 2002 using mailed questionnaires. Result: About 37% of the daycare centers provided health education more than 6 times during the past year and 92% provided annual health screenings. Traffic safety, personal hygiene, and sexuality education were most frequently provided. Regarding in-service education for daycare teachers, 62.7% had obtained health related education. Sexuality education, traffic accident, and injury prevention were the main topics for the in-service education. The teachers had relatively higher competencies and lower barriers to health education, while they also had proper knowledge related to health of children. Conclusion: Based on the study results, health professionals could plan and develop health promotion programs to meet the needs of teachers and children in daycare centers.