PEDIATRICS Vol. 65 No. 2 February 1980, pp. 318-325
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aronson, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Aiken, L. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aronson, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Aiken, L. S.

Compliance of Child Care Programs with Health and Safety Standards: Impact of Program Evaluation and Advocate Training

Susan S. Aronson MD, FAAP1 and Leona S. Aiken PhD1

1 Departments of Community and Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics, The Medical College of Pennsylvania, and the Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia

A 72-hour training program for workers in child care programs (day care and Head Start) on advocacy for health and safety was designed, implemented, and evaluated in the Southeast Region of Pennsylvania. From 142 day care sites that were involved in the study, 117 trainees were enrolled in groups of approximately 20 trainees over a two-year period. Overall attendance averaged 88%. Trainee satisfaction with individual sessions varied from 96% to 76%. Ninety-two percent of enrolled trainees completed the course. Most completed four out of the five course assignments. A pretest and posttest of health knowledge showed significant gain in all areas covered by the training; this knowledge was retained in a follow-up test seven months after the completion of training. Changes in desired opinions related to health advocacy were limited to an increase in the number who agreed that health issues can be grasped by individuals who are not health professionals. Pretraining assessment of program compliance with accepted health and safety standards revealed widespread need for improvement. Participation in the evaluation aspect of the study alone was associated with improved compliance of programs with health and safety standards, but in a number of health and safety aspects of the program, participation in training was associated with greater improvements in compliance than evaluation alone. This finding suggests a benefit to be derived from both monitoring and training provided for health and safety aspects of child care programs. Changes in compliance by programs were associated with increased involvement of the trained advocate in health and safety activities in the program. This greater involvement was manifested by the advocates as an increase in the combination of advocating and performing of activities and a decrease in only performing.

Submitted on May 10, 1978
Accepted on December 3, 1978




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
R. Y. Moon, T. Calabrese, and L. Aird
Reducing the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Child Care and Changing Provider Practices: Lessons Learned From a Demonstration Project
Pediatrics, October 1, 2008; 122(4): 788 - 798.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
G. M. Rassin, P. S. Beach, D. P. McCormick, V. N. Niebuhr, and S. Weller
Health and Safety in Day Care: Parental Knowledge
Clinical Pediatrics, June 1, 1991; 30(6): 344 - 349.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Eval RevHome page
L. S. Aiken and S. G. West
Invalidity of True Experiments: Self-Report Pretest Biases
Eval Rev, August 1, 1990; 14(4): 374 - 390.
[Abstract] [PDF]