Differences in responsibility for child healthcare by parent gender: A cross-sectional study

While prior work suggests that fathers are more involved in childcare than ever before, little is known about the balance of responsibility for scheduling child healthcare appointments and taking children to healthcare visits. In this study we sought to examine gender differences in parent responsibilities for healthcare-focused tasks.

We collected data through the Voices of Child Health in Chicago Parent Panel Survey in October-November 2021. Parents reported who was primarily responsible for: scheduling child healthcare appointments, taking the child to well-child visits, and taking the child to sick visits.

The sample included 1,142 parents. Mother respondents (n = 760) were more likely than father respondents (n = 379) to report being responsible for scheduling appointments (91.8% vs. 50.8%), taking children to well-child visits (89.8% vs. 59.5%) and sick visits (87.6% vs. 56.0%). Mothers were more than twice as likely as fathers to report being responsible for all three healthcare tasks (82.9% vs. 40.0%) (all comparisons p < .0001). Gender differences persisted across demographic characteristics and employment status. In adjusted logistic regression models, mothers had higher odds than fathers of being responsible for child healthcare tasks. Post-hoc analyses revealed that gender differences were not present among parents in same-sex couples.

Pediatricians have the opportunity to promote fathers' involvement in healthcare-focused tasks for children. Encouraging fathers to enter practice contact information in their phone is a simple action to reduce social and family expectations that mothers should be the primary point of contact with healthcare providers, and may be a move toward inclusivity.