Use of Social Media by Fathers of Premature Infants

Abstract

Although parents of premature infants experience many challenges when transitioning home from the neonatal intensive care unit, healthcare providers and social support systems tend to focus on mothers and infants rather than fathers. Unfortunately, very little is known about paternal concerns and needs as compared with maternal ones. The lack of understanding about paternal needs may lead to inadequate designs of neonatal intensive care unit family support programs with less involved fathers, all of which contribute to increased burdens on mothers and poor health outcomes for their infants. Although information technology (IT) might have the potential to increase support for the fathers of preterm infants, only a few studies have examined systematically how IT applications can be beneficial. This study aims to advance the understanding of needs and concerns of fathers with preterm infants and how fathers use the IT applications (eg, social networking Web sites) to support themselves. We observed qualitatively various social networking Web sites (ie, 29 Web sites) where fathers share their experiences about preterm infants. We discovered that fathers used various social media to discuss their concerns and, in turn, obtained informational, companionship, and emotional supports. On the basis of our analysis, we provide insights into a father-centered technology intervention design.

Viewpoints from families for improving transition from NICU-to-home for infants with medical complexity at a safety net hospital: a qualitative study

“…Similarly, another study queried families about what content they would share on social media and 79% answered that they would be interested in joining a "native-language online networking site providing: (1) general information on prematurity, (2) explanations of abbreviations commonly used in a hospital setting, and (3) details of common medical problems and the treatment thereof, including the availability of local therapists and follow-up services" [53]. Social media might be particularly useful for fathers as a platform to discuss their concerns and gain emotional support in future studies [54]. It also might be useful for families with CMC to also have similar supports for family members.…”

Impact of social media interventions and tools among informal caregivers of critically ill patients after patient admission to the intensive care unit: A scoping review

“…Caregivers were most commonly parents (n = 19, 61%) [ 30 , 31 , 33 , 35 – 38 , 41 – 44 , 47 – 49 , 51 , 52 ] and unspecified family caregivers more broadly—which could include parents, but the term was more broadly defined (n = 7, 23%) [ 23 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 32 , 39 , 50 ]. One study was specific to mothers [ 40 ] and one study was specific to fathers [ 45 ]. Few studies reported additional perspectives from members of the clinical care team (e.g., nurses, primary care physicians) (n = 3, 10%) [ 29 , 34 , 50 ] or critical care patients (n = 3, 10%) [ 22 , 28 , 49 ].…”

The Perinatal-Neonatal Care Journey for Parents of Preterm Infants: What Is Working and What Can be Improved

“…Because of this, and the overall lack of health professional and social support for fathers of preterm infants, new strategies are urgently needed to improve the access to quality support for fathers of preterm infants. 18,19 Hospital-based interventions to reduce stress and support for parents of preterm infants during the neonatal period can improve post-discharge outcomes for parents and infants. [20][21][22][23][24] Contextual factors are also important to consider, including the amount and quality of family or healthcare provider support.…”