Fathers, Mobile Health, Nuclear Family
Conditions
Keywords
Fatherhood
Brief summary
This project will be the first to examine the efficacy of a text messaging intervention designed to recruit first-time fathers-to-be using social media across the U.S. to become involved during pregnancy through two months of postnatal age to support infant, mother, and father well-being.
Detailed description
Father engagement in the prenatal and infant periods is associated with improved infant outcomes (e.g., physical, social and emotional health and development), and mother and father well-being. However, this key window of opportunity has been insufficiently leveraged to promote father engagement, especially, first-time fathers-to-be. text4FATHER, a multi-modal text messaging program, is designed to increase first-time fathers' knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral engagement. text4FATHER sends texts twice-weekly to fathers with threaded content to support infant, partner, and father well-being including resource weblinks to support behavior change from mid-pregnancy through 2 months postnatally. Text content was developed using formative research and feedback from the target population, consensus building with experts, and an evidence-based review.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALtext4FATHER
Receipt of twice-weekly texts that include resource links and instructions to support behavior change (e.g., videos, infographics) and start mid-pregnancy and continuing through 2 months of age.
Sponsors
Johns Hopkins University
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
2 groups will be enrolled and randomized to receipt or not receipt of the intervention.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Aged ≥18 years * Live in the U.S. * Speak English * Mother gestational age at enrollment less than 25 weeks * First-time father-to-be * Willing/able to receive texts.
Exclusion criteria
* Individuals who are minors * Do not speak English * Unable to provide informed consent * Not a first-time father * Not willing/unable to receive texts * In the past 12 months, any safety concern reported between father-to-be and the mother-to-be, including report of any physical, emotional, sexual harm, threatening behaviors, police involvement, restraining or protective order
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Self-efficacy as assessed by the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) | Baseline and 7 months | Self-report measure with higher score indicating greater confidence in overall parenting skills. This measure is scaled with range from 1 (low) to 6 (high). Mean range 1-6. |
| Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale (KPCS) | Baseline and 7 months | Self-report measure with higher score indicating greater confidence in infant care behaviors. This measure is scaled with range from 0 (no, hardly ever) to 3 (yes, most times). Mean range 0-3. |
| Father Engagement Scale (FES) | Baseline and 7 months | Self-report measure with higher score indicating greater degree of father engagement in infant care activities. This measure is scaled with range from 0 (never) to 4 (every day or almost every day). Mean range 0-4. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTArik V Marcell, MD, MPH
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORArik Marcell, MD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Dept of Pediatrics / Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine
Outcome results
None listed