[Commissioned child welfare volunteers' understanding of the social needs of the Visits to All Families with Infants Program].

Objectives: It is important that commissioned child welfare volunteers (CCWVs) fully understand the needs, objectives, and prospective results of working on the Visits to All Families with Infants Program. This study aimed to explore the factors that enhanced volunteers' recognition of the need for the program and to reveal issues that need to be addressed to improve support for CCWVs.

Methods: All 259 CCWV who were engaged in the Visits to All Families with Infants Program and who were living in Kitakyushu City, Japan, participated in the study between August and December, 2013. We questioned the volunteers about their recognition of the need for the program, asking, "Do you think that it is necessary for CCWVs to visit families with infants four months of age or younger?" In addition, we asked about their demographic characteristics, experience in the program, and activities aside from the program. Their recognition was measured with scores on a 5-point scale, and the score was divided into 1 (good recognition) or 0 (poor recognition). Multiple logistic regression was used for statistical analysis and to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Participants who had a "good experience" in the program were asked to explain these experiences by free description and these were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis.

Results: The response rate of the study was 92.1%, and the final analysis involved 154 CCWV (59.5%). Good recognition was ascertained for 69 individuals (44.8%) and poor recognition for 85 individuals (55.2%). Statistical analysis revealed that the volunteers' recognition of the need for the program was associated with qualifications related to medicine, health, or welfare (OR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.12-6.20), and whether the volunteers had a "good experience" when they visited families (OR: 18.35, 95% CI: 6.41-67.60). Regarding the content analysis of "good experience," 2 main categories, 7 categories, and 18 sub-categories were outlined.

Conclusion: This study indicated that if CCWVs have a qualification or good experience through the program, then their awareness of the social needs to work in the Visits to All Families with Infants Program would be strengthened.