Effects of a Nurse-Led Transition to Fatherhood Program on Fathers' Involvement in Infant Care, Gender Perception, and Father-Infant Bonding

NCT07087483 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: AU-SBF-SKM-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Fatherhood transition programs led by nurses can positively influence fathers' involvement in infant care, gender roles, and father-infant bonding. These programs encourage fathers to take a more active role in both the prenatal and postnatal periods, enhancing their knowledge and skills related to infant care. Through these programs, fathers gain more information and practical abilities in caring for their babies. The trainings provided by nurses cover essential care topics such as infant and maternal nutrition, sleep routines, diapering, burping, hygiene, and safety. This knowledge enables fathers to participate in infant care more effectively and safely. Traditional gender roles often assume that infant care is primarily the mother's responsibility. However, nurse-led programs emphasize that fathers can and should take an active role in this process. This helps break down stereotypes related to gender roles and strengthens the father's role in childcare. Active participation in infant care from an early stage contributes to the development of a strong emotional bond between father and baby. Quality time spent together, physical contact, and shared activities reinforce this bond. Research shows that a strong father-infant bond has positive effects on a child's emotional and social development. In conclusion, nurse-led fatherhood transition programs significantly contribute to reshaping traditional gender roles and strengthening the emotional bond between fathers and their babies by increasing paternal involvement in infant care. Expanding such programs can lead to long-term positive outcomes for both fathers and children.

Conditions

Training Effectiveness; Fatherhood Transition Training for New Fathers

Keywords

fathers

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Father-Infant Attachment Scale (FIAS)

  The scale, developed by Condon and colleagues, aims to assess father-infant attachment within the first year postpartum (Condon et al., 2008). The Turkish adaptation was conducted by Güleç and Kavlak (2013) and administered to fathers of infants aged 6-12 months. With the author's approval, it was stated that the scale could be used from the third month postpartum onward. The scale consists of 18 items and has three subdimensions: pleasure in interaction, love and pride, and patience and tolerance. Each item on the scale is rated on a scale from 1 to 5. Except for items 1, 2, 3, 6, 17, 18, and 19, the items are reverse-scored. Scoring for reverse items is performed in the opposite direction. Higher scores indicate stronger attachment (Güleç \& Kavlak, 2013). A validity and reliability analysis was conducted to evaluate the appropriateness of the scale. At the sixth month, the total Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was determined as 0.81; for the patience and tolerance subdimen

  0 - 4 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Gender Perception Scale

  0 - 4 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• Infant Care Interview Form

  0 - 4 months

Study Arms (2)

The fathers who receive training

EXPERIMENTAL

We will provide a training to fathers how they can improve and support their fatherhood skills with their newborns.

Behavioral: The fathers who receive training; Behavioral: Fatherhood Skill Training

The fathers who do not receive any training

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

The fathers who receive training BEHAVIORAL

We will provide training to fathers on how they can improve and support their fatherhood skills with their newborns, and the control group will only receive the brochure about the basic fatherhood skills.

The fathers who receive training

Fatherhood Skill Training BEHAVIORAL

FATHERHOOD TRANSITION TRAINING PROGRAM • Explanation of the goals and objectives of the training * Introduction to the training program * Newborn's physiological characteristics (weight, height, head circumference, fontanelles, body temperature, sleep, feeding, urination, meconium, genital organs, reflexes, sleeping position, safety, hygiene) * Infant feeding and burping the baby * Changing baby's clothes, giving a bath, diapering, and general care of the eyes, ears, mouth, umbilical cord, and skin * Importance and benefits of breast milk * Breastfeeding positions and techniques * Methods of expressing, storing, and increasing breast milk * Information about vaccinations, hearing and heel-prick screening, developmental hip dysplasia, and jaundice * General information on gender roles * Importance of father-infant bonding and its short- and long-term outcomes

The fathers who receive training

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• being a newborn father

You may not qualify if:

• N/A

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Akdeniz University Hospital: lead

Central Study Contacts

Sati Koldas Mir, MSc

CONTACT

+90 506 778 31 80; satikoldasmir@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 26, 2025
• First Posted: July 28, 2025
• Study Start: August 30, 2025
• Primary Completion: October 12, 2025
• Study Completion: November 30, 2025
• Last Updated: July 28, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07