The Health and Working Conditions of Women Employed in Child Care

Abstract

Over one million women are employed in child care and are among the lowest wage workers in the US. The health and working conditions of 674 child care workers (118 administrators and 556 staff) from 74 centers is described using baseline data from a larger intervention trial. Participants were 39.9 (±13.0) years old; 55.4% African American, 37.1% Caucasian, and 5.3% of Hispanic ethnicity. Seventy-six percent reported having an Associate’s degree or less; 42% were classified as at or below poverty (<$20,000); and exhibited many health risks such as excess weight, insufficient activity, poor diet, and inadequate sleep. We investigated potential differences by income and job category. Lower income participants were significantly more likely to be current smokers (19.9% vs. 11.7%), drink more sweetened beverages (1.9 vs. 1.5), and report higher depressive symptoms (15.5 vs. 12.6). Administrators worked more hours weekly compared to staff (46.4 vs. 40.6), are less active (100 vs. 126 min/week), more sedentary (501 vs. 477 min/day), and reported higher job demands (13.3 vs. 12.5). Given the numerous health issues and challenging work conditions, we hope our results serve as a call to action for addressing low wages and the work environment as a means of influencing the health and well-being of child care workers.

The health status of the early care and education workforce in the USA: a scoping review of the evidence and current practice

“…Five studies explored the proportion of providers meeting national physical activity requirements (e.g., 150 min per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity); the results included 27% of CCC employees [23], 29.4% of CCC directors and staff [9], and 55% of Head Start teachers [22] met these recommendations. Approximately 40-50% of FCC providers in two studies reported meeting guidelines [24,32].…”

“…Approximately 40-50% of FCC providers in two studies reported meeting guidelines [24,32]. Providers across four studies reported large quantities of sedentary time; one study of Head Start (HS) teachers found they spent 291.69 min (4.9 h) per weekday sitting [22]; two studies of CCC employees found a mean of 481 and 513.6 min (8-8.6 h) of sedentary time per day, respectively [9,23]. One study of FCC providers found that nearly one third (32.8%) reported nine or more hours of sedentary time per day [24].…”

“…Seven studies assessed height and weight and converted to BMI; high levels of overweight and obesity (defined as BMI > 25) were reported. Rates of overweight and obesity included between 73.5 and 80.1% for HS staff [22,28,30], 71% and 89.9% for FCC providers, and 88.5% and 87.2% of CCC staff [9,23]. Nationally, 71.6% of adults are overweight or obese [38].…”

“…A small proportion of providers reported being current smokers; from 15.6% of CCC staff [23] to just 7.5% of FCC providers [24].…”

Workplace health and safety intervention for child care staff: Rationale, design, and baseline results from the CARE cluster randomized control trial

“…Scores on the depression scale also speak to the challenges to their mental health, for which their stressful work environment is a likely contributor. A previous analysis of data from this study found that child care staff work long hours and report high job strain [85]. Previous research has shown that day-to-day child care staff must deal with challenges like working alone (limited contact with other adults), managing children’s misbehaviors and emotions (e.g., tantrums), and confronting pressures to ensure that children achieve [86].…”