Unnecessary child care exclusions in a state that endorses national exclusion guidelines. Pediatrics 2010 May;125(5):1003-9
Date
04/21/2010Pubmed ID
20403929Pubmed Central ID
PMC3047469DOI
10.1542/peds.2009-2283Scopus ID
2-s2.0-77951867361 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 10 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: No study has evaluated the association between state endorsement of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Public Health Association (APHA) national guidelines and unnecessary exclusion decisions. We sought to determine the rate of unnecessary exclusion decisions by child care directors in a state that endorses AAP/APHA guidelines and to identify factors that are associated with higher unnecessary exclusion decisions.
METHODS: A telephone survey was administered to directors in metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Directors were randomly sampled from a list of 971 registered centers. Director, center, and neighborhood characteristics were obtained. Directors reported whether immediate exclusion was indicated for 5 vignettes that featured children with mild illness that do not require exclusion by AAP/APHA guidelines. Weighted data were summarized by using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to identify factors that were associated with directors' exclusion decisions.
RESULTS: A total of 305 directors completed the survey. Overall, directors would unnecessarily exclude 57% of children. More than 62% had never heard of the AAP/APHA guidelines. Regression analysis showed fewer exclusions among more experienced compared with less experienced directors, among larger centers compared with smaller centers, and among centers that were located in areas with a higher percentage of female heads of household. Centers with < or =10% children on state-assisted tuition excluded more.
CONCLUSIONS: High rates of inappropriate exclusion persist despite state endorsement of AAP/APHA guidelines. Focused initial and ongoing training of directors regarding AAP/APHA guidelines may help to reduce high rates of unnecessary exclusions.
Author List
Hashikawa AN, Juhn YJ, Nimmer M, Copeland K, Shun-Hwa L, Simpson P, Stevens MW, Brousseau DCAuthor
Pippa M. Simpson PhD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Child Day Care CentersChild, Preschool
Communicable Disease Control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data Collection
Decision Making, Organizational
Female
Guideline Adherence
Humans
Male
Pediatrics
Societies, Medical
Wisconsin
