Prospective Diary Survey of Preschool Children's Social Contact Patterns: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to describe children's social contact patterns and to analyze factors related to their social contacts. Methods: The participants were 30 children aged ≥13 months to <7 years, whose teachers at childcare centers and parents at home were asked to maintain diaries of their social contacts prospectively for 24 hours. Data were collected from November 30, 2018, to January 7, 2019. Results: The 30 participating children were in contact with 363 persons in a 24-hours period (mean, 12.1±9.1). The number of contacts showed significant relationships with day of the week (p