biostudies-literatureUnknown25(1)Yu B<h4>Background</h4>China is actively responding to low birth rates by developing childcare institutions to alleviate the parenting pressures on families. However, despite strong childcare demand, the enrollment rate remains low. Few studies have explored the role of social influence in parents' childcare decisions. Therefore, this study will construct a research model to explore the mechanisms of social influence on parents' intentions to use childcare institutions.<h4>Methods</h4>This study used parents of infants and toddlers in mainland China as the study population. Questionnaires were collected through electronic surveys created on a professional website, with 554 responses gathered through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation ModeBMC health services research198https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11792571biostudies-literatureExploring the impact of social influence on parents' intention to use institutional childcare: a cross-sectional study.PMC11792571Li YZhang DYao YYu BHu HSun YfalseExploring the impact of social influence on parents' intention to use institutional childcare: a cross-sectional study.<h4>Background</h4>China is actively responding to low birth rates by developing childcare institutions to alleviate the parenting pressures on families. However, despite strong childcare demand, the enrollment rate remains low. Few studies have explored the role of social influence in parents' childcare decisions. Therefore, this study will construct a research model to explore the mechanisms of social influence on parents' intentions to use childcare institutions.<h4>Methods</h4>This study used parents of infants and toddlers in mainland China as the study population. Questionnaires were collected through electronic surveys created on a professional website, with 554 responses gathered through purposive sampling. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Mode2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Feb2025-04-04T02:10:01.02Z2025-04-04T02:10:01.02ZS-EPMC117925713990121710.1186/s12913-025-12362-z