Investigation of Fathers' Participation Rate in Child Care and Household Chores in the First 8 Weeks after Birth

Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Qum

Ghodratollah Roshanaei¹  Fatemeh Shobeiri¹  Azam Maleki² 

[1]Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

[2]Zanjan University of Medical Sciences

关键词: postnatal care;    child care;    reproductive health;    fathers;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background and Objectives: Participation of fathers in the reproductive health is a new strategy in the promotion of maternal and child health. The present study was conducted with the purpose of determining fathers’ participation rate in child care and household chores in the first 8 weeks after birth.   Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, participation rate of 403 fathers was investigated using stratified random sampling method after obtaining written informed consent. Data collection tool was a self-structured questionnaire, including demographic characteristics and questions on men’s participation as a four-part Likert scale. Weighted average was calculated for the obtained scores. Content validity was confirmed by content validity ratio (CVR) of 0.89 and its reliability by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.78-0.90. Data were analyzed using statistical indices, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-wallis test,      Chi-square test, and logistic regression model at 95% confidence.   Results: In this study, over half of the fathers had participation in both components. The highest percentage of participation in household chores was related to the complying with spouse's requests, child care, and playing with them. Education and age of marriage were effective factors in men’s participation, so that with increasing educational level, the chance of participation in household chores increased 1.81 times and increase of age increased 2.15 times.   Conclusion: According to the results of this study, participation of men in both components were almost favorable. Therefore, considering that the fathers’ function is affected by individual factors, fathers’ participation, especially young fathers with low education, in prenatal preparation classes seems necessary.

【 授权许可】

Unknown