This study evaluates the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Text4Father among first-time lower income fathers. Half of the participants will receive Text4Father - a text messaging educational program - from mid-pregnancy through 2 months of postnatal age, while the other half will receive usual care.
Text4Father, a multi-modal text messaging program, is designed to increase first-time lower income fathers' knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral engagement on infant care and parenting. Text4Father consists of 48-weeks of twice weekly texts written at a 5th grade reading level. Texts include resource links and instructions to support behavior change (e.g., videos, infographics), starting mid-pregnancy and continuing through 2 months of postnatal age. Text content was developed using formative research and feedback from the target population, consensus building with experts, and an evidence-based review. Usual maternity care does not involve expectant fathers in education. Further, while father engagement is widely advocated, few public health and clinical approaches aim to engage expectant fathers during the prenatal period and first months after birth - a critical window of opportunity that has been insufficiently leveraged to promote father engagement when fathers describe being unsure of father role.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
120
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.
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Feasibility of Overall Recruitment
Feasibility of recruitment will be measured as the number of fathers who were randomized and completed baseline procedures.
Time frame: At Baseline
Feasibility of Overall Retention
Feasibility of retention will be assessed as the number of enrolled participants who complete 7-month follow-up survey (2-months of postnatal age).
Time frame: Follow-up (7 months)
Intervention Usability as Assessed by the Usability Score
11 item self-report measure among participating intervention fathers with higher score indicating greater perceived usability of technology (text messaging program). This measure is scaled with range from 1 (low) to 4 (high). Mean of participant scale choice (1-4) is reported.
Time frame: Follow-up (7 months)
Intervention Acceptability as Assessed by the Acceptability Score
An 9 item self-report measure among participating intervention fathers with higher score indicating greater perceived acceptability of technology (text messaging program). This measure is scaled with range from 1 (low) to 4 (high). Mean of participant scale choice (1-4) is reported.
Time frame: Follow-up (7 months)
Self-efficacy as Assessed by the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC)
17 item self-report measure with higher score indicating greater confidence in overall parenting skills to assess Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) at follow-up 7 months later (2 months post-birth). This measure is scaled with range from 1 (low) to 6 (high). Mean of participant scale choice (1-6) is reported.
Time frame: 7 months (2 months post-birth)
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.