Getting both in the same room: Parental relationship dynamics and father engagement in a home visiting program in Florida

Full Description: Positive father engagement is beneficial to the health and well-being of mothers, children, and families. Traditionally mother-centered, perinatal home visiting programs have begun to recognize this value and worked to enhance father participation in recent years. This study was part of a statewide assessment to investigate factors related to father engagement in Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs. Across the state Florida, 114 MIECHV home visitors and administrators from 28 counties participated in 29 focus groups. Additionally, a subset of 15 fathers of infants/children enrolled in MIECHV from seven counties across Florida were interviewed in English or Spanish. Discussions were transcribed verbatim then thematically analyzed using a priori and emergent codes. MIECHV staff discussed the ways in which father engagement in home visiting activities was influenced by their cohabitation status, gender role expectations, parental relationships, interactions with extended family members, and situations in which father was the primary caregiver. Participants also described the benefits of positive father participation specific to the goals of home visiting programs. Notably, parents’ relationship dynamics served as both facilitators and barriers to father participation in home visiting programs. Fathers did not discuss relationship dynamics as a factor influencing engagement in MIECHV per se, however, fathers outlined how their partners/spouses (enrolled mothers) were instrumental in initiating their direct and indirect program engagement. Strategies for increasing father engagement in home visitation programs are also provided.
MIECHV serves a large proportion of adolescent parents, single or separated parents, and couples, who benefit from the home visiting programs. Less is known about the connection of participant retention and home visiting program outcomes in relation to whole family engagement. These evaluation results can be impactful for families with diverse living arrangements due to increased rates of divorce, remarriage, and cohabitation. Identifying specific drivers of father engagement may increase participation. Benefits of positive father engagement in MIECHV may include higher rates of breastfeeding, and better socio-emotional, behavioral, and developmental outcomes for children. Furthermore, this evaluation reflects on social factors and cultural differences influencing father involvement in their children’s lives. These reflections can provide guidance to inform future policies that assure the inclusion of father-specific curriculums, educational programs that focus on the importance of the role of the father in children’s life and offer additional training for home visiting staff to navigate difficult co-parenting relationships learning to engage male caregivers.

Abbreviated Description: Home visiting programs have sought to increase father engagement to benefit mother, child, and family health. An evaluation of father participation in the Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program drew from focus group discussions with MIECHV home visitors and administrators and semi-structured interviews with fathers of infants/children enrolled in MIECHV. Impacts of parent’s cohabitation status, gender role expectations, parental relationships, interactions with extended family, fathers serving as the primary caregiver, and mothers serving as liaisons to father engagement were emphasized in our findings. Future strategies should include counseling referral resources and father-specific activities to promote father engagement in home visits.