The Effect of Communication on Childcare Utilization Intention Among Mothers of Children Under Three Years of Age: A Controlled Trial in China

The communication of childcare services has been suggested as a major strategy to promote their development, one of the keys to counteracting the low-fertility issue; however, empirical evidence on the measure’s effectiveness remains limited. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the current study conducts a quantitative controlled policy field experiment to examine how childcare communication influences intention to utilize childcare services and its determinants among mothers with children aged 0–3 years old in Xi’an city, China (n = 101). The intervention included three channels of communication: banners; performances by center-cared children in the community; and online childcare classes for target mothers. Before the communication intervention, there were essentially no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in the intention-related aspects. After the intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in attitudes and subjective norms, while improvements in perceived behavioral control and utilization intention were not significant. To further improve the effectiveness of childcare communication, future efforts could focus on leveraging grassroots networks and expanding the target population for communication.