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PEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 3 March 2004, pp. 574-580

Predictors of Urban Fathers’ Involvement in Their Child’s Health Care

Trevena Moore, MD, MPH* and Milton Kotelchuck, PhD, MPH{ddagger}

* Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
{ddagger} Department of Maternal and Child Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Objective. Fathers make important contributions to many aspects of children’s well-being, but relatively few studies have evaluated father involvement in their child’s health care. The objective of this study was to explore the extent to which fathers are involved in their children’s health care and identify those factors that are associated with greater involvement.

Methods. A convenience sample of 104 English-speaking, urban fathers with children younger than 7 years were recruited to complete an anonymous, structured interview. Fathers self-reported the number of well-child visits (WCVs) that they had ever attended and which factors had influenced their attendance. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify those factors that predicted greater involvement.

Results. Eighty-nine percent of the fathers had attended at least 1 WCV. Fifty-three percent had high involvement, ie, had attended ≥40% of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended visits for their child’s age. In multivariate modeling, factors that were significantly associated with high involvement in attending WCVs included attendance at the child’s delivery (odds ratio [OR]: 7.3 [1.7–30.4]), younger child age (OR: 0.96 [0.94–0.99]), older father age (OR: 1.2 [1.2–1.3]), the child’s having health insurance (OR: 4.1 [1.3–12.0]), and having >1 child (OR: 0.22 [0.06–0.72]).

Conclusions. The factors identified suggest ways that pediatric providers can support fathers’ involvement in their children’s health care. Providers should focus on encouraging greater involvement early, especially for younger fathers and those with older children. In addition, support of universal health coverage for children might, in addition to other obvious benefits, enhance a father’s engagement with his child’s health care.

Key Words: father involvement • well-child visits • urban • fathers • insurance

Abbreviations: WCV, well-child visit • AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics

Received for publication May 19, 2003; Accepted Aug 11, 2003.


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