While the overall participation in healthcare services by fathers is low, those without health insurance or a college degree were less likely to interact with the healthcare system compared with fathers with health insurance or a college degree, according to a study published in Maternal and Child Health Journal.

The research team from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and the Georgia Department of Public Health conducted the state-representative study of fathers in Georgia, examining the associations between fathers’ sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare utilization (having a primary care physician, having any type of recent healthcare visit), and self-reported health status. They analyzed data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) for Dads population-based cross-sectional study, which sampled 857 fathers in the state of Georgia from October 2018 to July 2019. It surveyed fathers 2–6 months after their infants’ birth to assess paternal experiences and behaviors during the perinatal period.

Key Takeaways

  • Among 266 respondents, 53.9 percent reported having a primary care physician, 46.2 percent reported any healthcare visit, and 65.2 percent reported very good or excellent health.
  • Insured fathers were more likely to have a primary care physician (65.6 percent versus 26.6 percent) and a healthcare visit (59.9 percent versus 21.5 percent) than fathers who were uninsured.
  • Fathers reporting very good or excellent health were more likely to have a primary care physician than fathers reporting fair or good health (59.9 percent versus 42.1 percent).
  • Fathers with at least a college degree were more likely to have a recent healthcare visit (59.4 percent versus 39.3 percent) and to report very good or excellent health (79.1 percent versus 52.2 percent) compared to fathers with a high school diploma/GED or less.

Fathers reporting lack of recent healthcare utilization and poorer self-reported health may be a focus for future interventions and programs, according to the study’s authors. They added that identifying barriers that affect fathers’ interactions with the healthcare system is important in the development of strategies to improve the overall health of fathers and families. Future research will center on the PRAMS for Dads project—which has expanded to eight states—with the goal of 30 sites implementing a Fatherhood Survey by 2030.

Lurie Children’s researchers who conducted the study were Craig F. Garfield, MD, Attending Physician, Hospital-Based Medicine; John James F. Parker, MD, Attending Physician, Advanced General Pediatrics and Primary Care; and Clarissa Simon, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. All are team members of the Family & Child Health Innovations Program, a leader at the intersection of evidence-based research and family health.

Pediatric research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute.