men’s health and fatherhood: what do dads need to know?

Men’s Health and Fatherhood: What Do Dads Need to Know?

September 29, 2021

About Us

• HHS/ACF Office of Family Assistance provides funds to support fathers and families through the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse.

• Resources are available for dads, fatherhood programs, researchers, and policy makers.

For More Information Visit the NRFC: Fatherhood.gov

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mailto:[email protected]

TODAY’S PRESENTERS

Craig Garfield, MD, MAPPProfessor, Lurie Children’s Hospital/Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

[email protected]

Associate Professor, The Consultation Center, Yale University School of Medicine,

[email protected]

Derrick Gordon, Ph.D.

Armin BrottAuthor, Columnist, Radio Host, and Founder, MrDad.com

[email protected]





Armin Brott

• Founder, MrDad.com

• Board of Advisors, Men’s Health Network

• Co-founder, Healthy Men, Inc.

• Author, columnist, and radio host.

OBSTACLES THAT KEEP FATHERS FROM BEING MORE INVOLVED IN HEALTH – THEIR OWN AND THEIR CHILDREN’S

• Starts with socializationo Big boys don’t cryo Take one for the teamo Too busy

• Mediao Healthcare messaging aimed at women/moms

Childcare seen as “mom things” so dads don’t get involvedo Focus on deadbeat dads and toxic masculinity

Makes dads feel unimportant/useless, so they don’t get involved• Medical offices

o Spaces not male friendly, so men don’t feel welcome


CONSEQUENCES: MEN DON’T ENGAGE WITH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

• Men are half as likely as women to have had a physical in last two years.

• Men ignore symptoms:o Majority say they wouldn’t go to

doctor “unless they were bleeding.”o Diabetes.

• Men have shorter, sicker lives than women:o Life expectancy gapo Top 10 causes of deatho Minority men at especially high risko COVID: worse outcomes, greater

mortalityo COVID: less likely to wear mask/get

vaccinated

• Financial costs of ignoring men’s health.

• Dads don’t understand their unique contributions to child development.

• They don’t understand how their behavior affects their children and vice versa.

o Example: prenatal smoking, drug use


WHAT FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS CAN DO TO HELP FATHERS TAKE ON A MORE ACTIVE HEALTHCARE ROLE

• Emphasize unique benefits of father involvement to children, partner, and self.oPrenatal and up: Independence, persistence, school performance.

• Also benefits to partner and self.o Lower stress for expectant moms => fewer premature and low-

birthweight babies => fewer problems.oDads often adopt healthier behavior.



• Emphasize “do it for your kids” and role modeling.

• Give specific advice (many guys don’t know what they need to do and are too embarrassed to ask).o Fitness, nutrition, sleep guidance.o Provide easy-to-make recipes, workouts dads can do with kids.o Stress management advice.o Help them schedule physical exams.

• Avoid saying “big boys don’t cry” and “man up.”



• Stop separating mental and physical health. o Mental health issues sometimes manifest physically.o Physical health issues may lead to mental health issues.

• Direct outreach.o Call guys and ask how they’re doing, whether they need help.o Encourage them to ask for help if they need it.

o It’s a sign of strength, not weakness.• Engage women.

o Women can encourage their partners, sons, fathers, brothers to be more involved.


Derrick M. Gordon, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

The Consultation Center,

Yale University School of Medicine

MEN, MENTAL HEALTH AND FATHERING

• Challenge us to think about health from a holistic perspective.oPhysicaloMentaloGeneticoSocialoService utilizationo Literacy



• Opportunity:oAdvance prevention efforts.o Improve service engagement.

• Less than 1/3 of men who need mental health care will get it.

• When they present, clinicians are ill-equipped to recognize and address their needs.



• Factors associated with men’s receipt of care:oSocietal and self-stigma.oPerceived weakness.oPoor mental health literacy.oDistrust of mental health systems.oChallenges to engaging in ways that mental health systems expect.



• Depression symptoms

• Anxiety symptoms

• Trauma

• Substance use disorders

• Adjustment disorders



• Areas for interventionoDestigmatizing mental healthoAlternative interventionsoEmotional supporto Identifying the issueso LanguageoTransparencyoMen as nurturers



• Taking a holistic approach:oCan improve the health of men, their children, and female partners

(hetero).oCan help to increase the relationship functioning with partner.oDifferent children need different things.o True for resident and non-resident fathers.o Satisfaction in parenting skills decreases mental health challenges.

• Think about where this fits in your work.


Craig Garfield, MD, MAPP

Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University

Attending Physician, Lurie Children’s Hospital/Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Director, Family and Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP)

FATHERING INNOVATIONS: FROM DATA COMES ACTION

• LocaloThe Family and Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP) – Lurie

Children’s Hospital of Chicago

• Regionalo ”Fathers and Babies (FAB)” – Home Visiting intervention

• NationaloPregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) for Dads

with CDC


EXCITING INNOVATIONS FOR FATHERS: #1

• FCHIP at Lurie Children’s Hospital o “Children thrive when families

thrive”

• A whole family approach, not disease/organ system based

• Annual reports, collaborations, pilot fundingoMother’s Day, Father’s Day and

Grandparent’s Day Reports


https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/family-child-health-innovations-program/

21

FCHIP REPORTS: MOTHERS DAY, FATHERS DAY, GRANDPARENTS DAY

2021 FCHIP DATA ABOUT DADS (DADS) PILOT GRANTS

• Daniel Robinson, MD, Neonatology: “Dietary Intake in Fathers and Coparents of Preterm Infants.”oNutritional behaviors of fathers in families with premature infants.

• Kelly Michaelson, MD, Intensive care: “Supporting Fathers after a Perinatal Death.”o Interviews with fathers experiencing loss in order to identify support

needs.


FATHERS AND DISCRIMINATION

• FCHIP and Voices of Child Health in Chicago (VOCHIC) collaboration

o Survey of 1500 Chicago parents.

o “Everyday discrimination” = chronic, routine, unfair treatment.

• Fathers’ reported experiences of discrimination:

o Fathers reported higher levels of everyday discrimination than did mothers.

o More white fathers (36%) reported “no everyday discrimination” than did Black (24%) or Hispanic fathers (28%).

o 55% of fathers reported being "treated with less courtesy than others” and 54% reported “receiving poorer service than others.”

o 39% of fathers reported “people acting afraid of them” and 30% reported “being threatened or harassed.”


INNOVATIONS FOR FATHERS: #2

• Fathers and Babies (FAB) mental health intervention:o Mirrors an intervention for Mothers

and Babies in Home Visiting. o 12 sessions (mix of Home Visits and

text messages).

• Follow-up surveys after 3 and 6 months: o Decreased stress for fathers and

mothers.o Small effect on depressive symptoms.


EXCITING INNOVATIONS FOR FATHERS: #2

• Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for Dads (PRAMS for Dads).

• Survey of new fathers (3 months postnatal) via birth certificate lottery.o 857 new fathers sampled:

55% had a primary care physician. 49% had attended a healthcare visit. 70% overweight/obesity, 19% currently smoking

cigarettes, 13% binge drinking, 10% depressive symptoms.

• Securing funding to conduct PRAMS for Dads in Ohio, Massachusetts and Michigan.


WHAT DO DADS NEED TO KNOW?

• You are important to your child.• You are important to your child’s mother.• You are important yourself.

What do practitioners need to know?• Words matter: “Parenting” = Mothers.• Fathers’ needs differ from needs of mothers.• Collect data for action: Plan/Do/Study/Act.


Q&A withToday’s Presenters

Craig Garfield, MD, MAPPProfessor, Lurie Children’s Hospital/Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

[email protected]

Associate Professor, The Consultation Center, Yale University School of Medicine,

[email protected]

Derrick Gordon, Ph.D.

Armin BrottAuthor, Columnist, Radio Host, and Founder, MrDad.com

[email protected]





STAY IN TOUCHNational Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse

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• Comments, questions, suggestions for futurewebinar topics, information or resources thatyou recommend.

To Continue Today’s Conversation:

• Join our Virtual Collaborative Community at learningcommunity.fatherhood.gov



https://learningcommunity.fatherhood.gov/

men’s health and fatherhood: what do dads need to know?

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