Implementing a Text Messaging Intervention to Engage Fathers in Home Visiting
1College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, 1947 North College Road, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. lee.10148@osu.edu.
Maternal and Child Health Journal
|June 9, 2023
Summary
The Text4Dad program successfully enrolled fathers in home visiting services. While fathers found the text messaging content acceptable and usable, challenges with platform access and limited interaction hindered optimal engagement.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Communication
- Community Health Programs
Background:
- Home visiting programs are crucial for supporting families.
- Engaging fathers in these programs presents unique challenges.
- Text messaging interventions offer a novel approach to father engagement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report on the Text4Dad text messaging intervention for engaging fathers in home visiting.
- To introduce implementation process components from a pilot study across three Healthy Start home visitation sites.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving interviews with three Fatherhood Community Health Workers (F-CHWs) and three fathers.
- Content analysis of F-CHW and father participant experiences with the Text4Dad intervention.
Main Results:
- Five implementation components were identified: F-CHW enrollment and interaction, training, father acceptability and usability, and barriers to interactive use.
- Fathers found Text4Dad content acceptable and the technology usable, despite some limitations.
- F-CHWs faced challenges accessing the platform during home visits, leading to lower-than-anticipated father response rates.
Conclusions:
- Fatherhood Community Health Workers successfully enrolled fathers in the Text4Dad program.
- While acceptable and usable, Text4Dad implementation faced challenges with platform accessibility and limited interactive use by F-CHWs.
- Future directions include improving text messaging program implementation within community-based fatherhood initiatives.
Keywords:
Father involvementHome visitingImplementation process componentsMaternal child healthTechnology and familiesMore Related Videos
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