Current and preferred services of specialized professionals in childcare settings in Quebec, Canada: A descriptive survey of childcare administrators' perspectives

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q2 PEDIATRICS

Child Care Health and Development Pub Date : 2024-07-05 DOI:10.1111/cch.13305

Gabrielle Pratte, Audrée Jeanne Beaudoin, Chantal Camden, Mélanie Couture

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Abstract

Background

Many challenges exist in promoting inclusion in childcare settings. Adequate support from specialized professionals is necessary to create inclusive childcare settings. Understanding which services are being delivered by specialized professionals in childcare contexts is an important first step. The aim of this study was to (1) describe the services currently being delivered by specialized professionals in childcare settings in Quebec (Canada) and (2) seek childcare administrators' perspectives on their preferred services.

Methods

An online province-wide descriptive survey was conducted with childcare administrators (n = 344). Questions focused on 11 service delivery dimensions (e.g. professionals involved, children served). Descriptive statistics were calculated.

Results

Childcare settings received services from a median of two specialized professionals (IQR [1–4]). Most services were delivered by early childhood special educators (61.3%), speech-language pathologists (57.6%), psycho-educators (43.6%) and occupational therapists (43.3%). Childcare administrators identified these four services as being particularly supportive. Professionals delivered a median of 0.4 h of service per week in each childcare setting (IQR [0.1–3.0]). A high percentage (91.2%) of administrators reported unmet needs for professional support in at least one developmental domain, with a high percentage (57.3%) of administrators identifying needs in the socio-emotional domain. Most (63.3%) expressed a desire to prioritize services for children without an established diagnosis but identified by early childhood educators as having needs for professional support. Most administrators (71.4%) also preferred in-context services.

Conclusions

Childcare administrators perceive an important role for specialized professionals in supporting inclusion in their settings. Recommendations emerging are based on the four main professional service needs identified: (1) increasing the intensity and stability of services; (2) providing services for undiagnosed children identified by early childhood educators as having unmet needs; (3) ensuring that services encompassing all developmental domains with a focus on the socio-emotional domain; and (4) prioritizing of in-context services.

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加拿大魁北克省托儿所专业人员的现有服务和首选服务：对托儿所管理者观点的描述性调查。

背景：在促进儿童保育机构的全纳性方面存在许多挑战。要创建全纳儿童保育环境，就必须得到专业人员的充分支持。了解专业人员在儿童保育环境中提供哪些服务是重要的第一步。本研究的目的是：(1) 描述魁北克（加拿大）托儿所目前由专业人员提供的服务；(2) 征求托儿所管理人员对其首选服务的看法：方法：对全省范围内的托儿所管理者（n = 344）进行了在线描述性调查。问题主要集中在 11 个服务提供方面（如参与的专业人员、服务的儿童）。调查结果托儿所接受服务的专业人员中位数为两名（IQR [1-4]）。大多数服务由幼儿特殊教育工作者（61.3%）、言语病理学家（57.6%）、心理教育工作者（43.6%）和职业治疗师（43.3%）提供。托儿所管理者认为这四种服务特别具有支持性。专业人员在每个托儿所每周提供的服务时间中位数为 0.4 小时（IQR [0.1-3.0]）。有很高比例（91.2%）的管理者表示，他们在至少一个发展领域的专业支持需求未得到满足，其中有很高比例（57.3%）的管理者认为他们在社会情感领域有需求。大多数管理者（63.3%）表示希望优先为没有确诊但被幼儿教育工作者确定为需要专业支持的儿童提供服务。大多数管理者（71.4%）还倾向于提供情境服务：托儿所管理者认为，专业人员在支持托儿所的全纳工作中发挥着重要作用。根据所确定的四种主要专业服务需求，提出了一些建议：(1) 增加服务的强度和稳定性；(2) 为幼儿教育工作者发现的未确诊儿童提供服务，以满足他们的需要；(3) 确保服务涵盖所有发展领域，重点放在社会情感领域；(4) 优先提供情境服务。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Child Care Health and Development 医学-小儿科

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

5.30%

发文量

136

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Child: care, health and development is an international, peer-reviewed journal which publishes papers dealing with all aspects of the health and development of children and young people. We aim to attract quantitative and qualitative research papers relevant to people from all disciplines working in child health. We welcome studies which examine the effects of social and environmental factors on health and development as well as those dealing with clinical issues, the organization of services and health policy. We particularly encourage the submission of studies related to those who are disadvantaged by physical, developmental, emotional and social problems. The journal also aims to collate important research findings and to provide a forum for discussion of global child health issues.