School selection process for children receiving medical care and the factors considered by their parents in the process

Abstract

 Introduction: One of the issues faced by children receiving medical care is the lack of support in the selection of schools. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors considered by parents in the school selection process for their children receiving medical care and to obtain suggestions for preschool support. Methods: Five parents of children receiving medical care were questioned on the factors affecting their decision-making in the school selection process for their children and the current evaluation of their children’s health status. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using Steps for Coding and Theorization. Results: The factors affecting the school selection process included psychological support throughout the job-hunting period; the school destination decision period; the entire term comprising “hearsay information gathering,” “matching,” and “experiential information gathering; ” and the parents’ thoughts. However, it was a challenge to obtain school attendance information, concerns of multiaxis conflicts, superiority and inferiority complexes affecting the school destination choice, and the feelings associated with the school’s culture. Discussion: Appropriate support should be provided to increase the confidence during selection, such as enhancing the school attendance support system and clarifying the subjective values. These results suggest that acquiring the necessary and relevant information on school attendance consideration and enhancing the psychological support will help parents in selecting a school destination with a sense of security and satisfaction.