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Published on: May 31, 2024
Social Support Provision: Perspective of Fathers With Preterm Infants
1Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, USA.
Purpose:
Today's social support systems for parents of preterm infants tend to pay more attention to mothers than fathers. As a father also plays a critical role in caring for a preterm infant, there is a need to advance understanding of paternal concerns and needs about social supports that should better support fathers.
Design And Methods:
Interviews were conducted with 18 parents of preterm infants (i.e., 10 mothers and 8 fathers) who have been discharged from the NICU to home. All interviews were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim for analysis.
Results:
The fathers' primary resources are healthcare professionals, their partners, and peer fathers of preterm infants. The fathers expressed various social support needs associated with informational, belonging, and emotional supports.
Conclusions:
It is recommended that a social support system be customized accordingly to better accommodate paternal needs.
Practice Implications:
Healthcare professionals may refer to the study results in designing the educational materials for fathers of preterm infants.
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