Casey fathers are being invited to participate in a research study.
The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Tweddle Child and Family Health Services are looking for Casey based dads of young children to participate.
Fathers in Casey may be eligible if they are over 18 years of age and are the biological father, stepfather or male caregiver of a child between 0-4 years.
The project will evaluate how the well-being and health of dads can be boosted during early parenthood.
The researchers noted the abundant health services available to new mothers and promoting their health and well-being.
Though they noticed less of a focus on fathers.
“We know that being a dad of young children can be fun and rewarding but it can also be stressful at times,” researchers Casey Hosking and Dr Alison Fogarty said in the participant information form.
As part of the project, the team will be trialling their 6 week face-to-face group ‘Working Out Dads’.
The Working Out Dads group includes a 60 minute discussion with 6-10 participants about being a dad, managing work and family life, and strategies to cope with stress.
This group also includes a 30 minute personal training session.
This program will be compared with Talking About Being a Dad, a 30 minute discussion over the phone with a health professional from Tweddle.
The phone conversation will serve as a proxy for the type of services generally allocated to fathers.
The project is funded by the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission.
It is hoped the project will gather important information about which approaches are most effective in promoting fathers’ health and well-being.
