A Survey on the Perceptions and Needs of Integrated Care for Parents of Infants and Toddlers: Focusing on Gwangju Metropolitan City

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception and needs of parents of infants and toddlers on integrated care. Methods A survey was conducted on 650 parents who live in Gwangju Metropolitan City and raise infants and toddlers, and 310 questionnaires were selected except for insincere questionnaires.,The collected questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS 24.0 program, and frequency, percentage, Cronbach ⁇ s ⁇ coefficient, mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were calculated.,In addition, data were processed through t-test, one-way ANOVA, and post-test. Results The results of the study are as follows: First, as a result of investigating the perception of integrated care of parents of infants and toddlers, the percentage of respondents who perceived integrated care service was higher than that of households with two or more infants and toddlers, and the percentage of respondents who perceived integrated care service was the lowest.,Second, the need for integrated care of parents of infants and young children was the highest at 77.18 points in securing and expanding safe indoor and outdoor play space near the residence of infants and young children.,Next, efforts to prevent child abuse, efforts to improve working conditions of childcare staff, efforts to respect the rights of childcare staff, efforts to secure and expand eco-friendly play environment, efforts to respect the rights of infants and young children, dissemination and support of infectious disease disaster response manuals, activation of operation of comprehensive childcare support centers, prevention of infant safety accidents and strengthening of safety management, expansion of emergency childcare facilities and services, and establishment of childcare cooperation systems such as related organizations. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to provide support for the establishment of safe indoor and outdoor play areas near the residential area and efforts to prevent child abuse when establishing a policy basis for integrated care for parents of infants and young children. In addition, it is meaningful that it provided basic data for establishing various policy bases and establishing integrated care policies for qualitative integrated care support by understanding the needs of parents of infants and young children.