Engaging Men in Prenatal Health via eHealth: Findings From a National Survey

Abstract

Background Pregnancy outcomes in the United States rank among the worst of countries with a developed health care system. Although traditional prenatal health primarily focuses on women, promising findings have emerged in international research that suggest the potential of including men in prenatal health interventions in the United States. eHealth apps present a promising avenue to reach new and expectant fathers with crucial parenting knowledge and healthy, supportive behaviors. Objective The aim was to explore the perceived role of men in prenatal health, acceptability of eHealth to positively engage men during pregnancy, and participant-suggested ways of improving a prenatal health app designed for new and expectant fathers. Methods A nationally representative sample of adult males (N=962) was recruited through an online survey panel. A third-party market research and digital data collection agency managed the recruitment. The sample had a mean age of 30.2 (SD 6.3) years and included both fathers (413/962, 42.9%) and non-fathers (549/962, 57.1%). Nearly 12.0% (115/962) of participants had a partner who was pregnant at the time of the survey. Results Despite perceived barriers, such as time constraints, financial burdens, and an unclear role, men believe it is important to be involved in pregnancy health. The majority of participants (770/944, 81.6%) found the site to contain useful and interesting information. Most substantially, more than three-quarters (738/962, 76.7%) of the sample said they would share the site with others who would benefit from the information. Participants recommended the addition of interactive modules, such as a financial planning tool and videos, to make the site stronger. Conclusions We explored the use of targeted eHealth to introduce men to prenatal education. Results indicate men are favorable to this intervention. Additional refinement should include interactive tools to further engage men in this important issue. Reaching men at the prenatal phase is an early “teachable moment”—where new/expectant fathers are open to information on how to help their partners have a healthy pregnancy and promote the health of their unborn children. Findings will further inform best practices for engaging men in pregnancy, which is crucial for improving maternal and child health outcomes in the United States.

Mapping Canadian Men’s Recent and Intended Health Behavior Changes Through the Don’t Change Much Electronic Health Program

“…Our hypothesis—increased DCM exposure levels would be positively associated with men’s recent and intended health behavior changes—was supported by the study results. These findings corroborate broader acceptability claims and previous reports [ 7 , 14 - 16 ] about the compatibility of diverse eHealth resources with some men’s help-seeking preferences and practices. Also reinforced are assertions about the associations between engagement (based on self-reported duration and frequency of use) and men’s recent and intended health behavior changes [ 22 ].…”

“…Men’s eHealth programs have grown significantly to deliver diverse information and services across ever expansive platforms (ie, web, social media, and email). The wide variety of men’s eHealth programs include interventions tailored to address weight loss [ 14 ], smoking cessation [ 15 ], prenatal health education [ 16 ], fathering [ 17 ], depression management [ 7 , 18 ], sexual health [ 19 - 24 ], and prostate cancer [ 25 ]. Although there are claims that eHealth resources can engage diverse subgroups of men, satiating their preferences for anonymity and self-directed health help-seeking, two significant issues prevail.…”

“…Within this and similar needs analyses work, the insights drawn from potential end users have affirmed the acceptability of men’s eHealth programs in specific contexts and informed tailored content and targeted delivery of the interventions. Evaluations of newly launched and established eHealth programs have tended to focus on men’s engagement or linkages to behavior change [ 16 , 22 ]. Examples include a single-group, repeated measures design evaluating the applicability of Man Central (a web and mobile phone intervention for men with depression), which showed significant improvements in depression symptoms, depression risk, externalizing symptoms, and work and social functioning among end users [ 7 ].…”

Social Media Markers to Identify Fathers at Risk of Postpartum Depression: A Machine Learning Approach

“…Although fathers may be difficult to engage in traditional healthcare settings, increasing evidence suggests that fathers may be engaging in mental health information seeking digitally via social media platforms. Notably, perinatal healthcare services have reported increased engagement with fathers when offering their services digitally 10,11 ; researchers have found increased engagement in fathers through social media when compared to traditional recruitment techniques 12 ; and fathers themselves report using the internet as a key source of information on perinatal health issues 13 , with rich qualitative studies describing fathers use of social media as a tool for social support in a broad range of fathering contexts [14][15][16][17] .…”

Exploring the Transition to Fatherhood: Feasibility Study Using Social Media and Machine Learning

“…Social media is a particularly promising avenue for fatherhood research. Although fathers are difficult to engage through traditional support settings, evidence suggests that electronic health strategies might be a more effective avenue at reaching and engaging fathers [14,15]. Fathers themselves report using the internet as a key source of information about pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care [16], and social media is used by fathers particularly for social support regarding their fatherhood role [17].…”