ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1624999
This article is part of the Research TopicPublic Health Outcomes: The Role of Social Security Systems in Improving Residents' Health WelfareView all 74 articles
Determinants of Childcare Service Demand for Infants Aged 0-3 Among the Childbearing Population in China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangsu Health Development Research Center, Nanjing, China
- 2Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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This study aims to investigate the demand for institutional childcare serviceschildcare services for infants aged 0-3 years among the childbearing population in China and identify its key determinants.An online survey was conducted in Suzhou, China in August 2024 using a self-designed questionnaire. Information on personal and family characteristics, as well as demand for childcare services, was collected. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the determinants of childcare services.Of 5567 respondents, 45.9% expressed demand for childcare services for children aged 0-3 years. Binary logistic regression identified several significant predictors of demand. Notably, female gender (OR=0.671, p < 0.001), older age (OR=0.950, p < 0.001), rural residence (OR=0.776, p < 0.001), and lower educational attainment (e.g., compared to Master or higher, p-values < 0.01 for lower levels) were associated with lower demand (p < 0.05). Conversely, having more children (e.g., two children: OR=4.999, p < 0.001), greater trust in childcare institutions (OR=1.596, p < 0.001), better knowledge about childcare services, and greater awareness of childcare policies (OR=1.085, p = 0.013) were significantly associated with higher demand (p < 0.05). 45.9% of 5567 respondents expressed demand for childcare services for children aged 0-3 years. Gender, age, residence, educational attainment, parity, trust in childcare institutions, childcare service awareness, and knowledge about childcare policies were identified as significant predictors. Female and older respondents from rural areas with a lower education level demonstrated lower childcare service demand, while respondents who had more children, showed greater trust in childcare institutions, and possessed better knowledge of childcare services and policies exhibited higher demand.Demand for childcare services was influenced by multiple factors. Enhancing subsidies and rural service accessibility, strengthening institutional credibility, implementing incentives for multi-child families, disseminating childcare knowledge and policy information and facilitating a childcare paradigm shift were recommended.
Keywords: Childcare services, demand, Influencing factors, Children Aged 0-3, Childbearing age people
Received: 08 May 2025; Accepted: 15 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Liu, Zhou, Shi, Cheng, Cao, Xing, Cui and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rugang Liu, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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