Factors Related to Awareness of Health Conditions Among Unemployed Mothers Rearing Pre-Kindergarten Children

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the factors related to awareness of health conditions among unemployed mothers rearing pre-kindergarten children. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire survey was conducted with 950 mothers rearing pre-kindergarten children. A total of 608 respondents returned valid responses (recovery rate 64.1%), and of these, the 358 respondents who answered that they were unemployed were analyzed. The mean age of respondents was 33.6±5.0 years, and 87.4% were living in nuclear families. Approximately 70% of mothers were rearing 0- to 1-year-old children, and 51.7% were rearing their first child. As for awareness of health conditions among mothers, 53.9% indicated they were “healthy” and 46.1% indicated they were “unhealthy”, with the most common subjective symptoms being tiredness, followed by stiff shoulders and low back pain. A 74.6% majority of mothers did not have the opportunity to have a health checkup and 59.8% did not know about health services available in their residential area. The results of logistic regression analysis showed relationships between health conditions and the following items : “worries about health conditions” (odds ratio [OR] 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23-0.61), “consultation” (OR 3.04, 95%CI 1.56-5.92), and “health literacy” (OR 1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08). The findings suggest that when developing health supports for unemployed mothers rearing pre-kindergarten children, it is necessary to consider contents aimed at promoting consulting behavior and improving health literacy.