Precarity and work-family balance: fathers’ workplace demands and perinatal home visiting participation

ABSTRACT

Father engagement in home visiting programs is beneficial to the family and increases program retention. This qualitative evaluation explored occupational barriers to fathers’ involvement in their child’s life and engagement in Florida Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs through 29 focus groups conducted with 114 Florida MIECHV staff across eight counties and 15 interviews conducted with fathers of enrolled children/infants in seven counties. Conversations were recorded, transcribed, and coded using inductive thematic analysis. Results showed that father’s work was the most referenced of logistical factors (fathers’ work, living situation, program scheduling, and transportation) impacting father engagement in the program. Specific work factors included type of occupation, work precarity, work schedule, and the family’s reliance on father’s income. The results suggest that for the majority of fathers, not engaging in the MIECHV program is due to work demands rather than a lack of interest.

KEYWORDS:

• Perinatal home visiting
• fatherhood
• occupation
• precarious work
• work-life balance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Service Administration of the U.S. DHHS [#D89MC28265], Affordable Care Act, Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsement be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Notes on contributors

Davies Toluhi

Davies Toluhi, MD, MPH is a Clinical Research Patient Specialist with the GI Oncology Unit, Indiana University Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN.

Bola Yusuf

Bola Yusuf, MBBS, MPH is an Evaluation Research Assistant with the Abacus Evaluation team at the UNC Center for Health Equity Research, Chapel Hill, NC.

Laura Kihlström

Laura Kihlström, PhD, MPH is a Senior Researcher at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.

Shanda Vereen

Shanda Vereen, PhD, MSPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Science and Human Performance at the University of Tampa, Tampa, FL. Her research interests include maternal and child health, father involvement, sexual and reproductive health, and mixed methods research.

Jennifer Marshall

Jennifer Marshall, PhD, CPH is an Associate Professor at the USF College of Public Health and Director of Planning and Evaluation at the Sunshine Education and Research Center (ERC) for Occupational Health, Safety, and Wellness, Tampa, FL.