Health Visitors Affiliation with fathers Resubmission
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do Health Visitors engage with the fathers of children under five years old in modern society?
IRAS ID
319466
Contact name
Veronique Oldfield
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Chester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
RESC1121-1071, Research Ethics Committee
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study aims to observe Health Visitor (HV) practice in relation to HV engagement with fathers. Current research indicates that men’s mental health is an emerging public health concern and that health professionals, such as HVs, are best placed for early identification and support of men’s mental health through core contacts, such as antenatal and birth visits. There is a gap in current research regarding how Health Visitors engage with fathers, however, the research that is available indicates that fathers do not perceive the Health Visitor’s role to extend to their health as well. The study would involve the researcher attending the team office base for 5 days at a time, for 4 separate weeks. During this time, the researcher would accompany Health Visitor’s to their core contacts with families in the perinatal period (antenatal and birth visits), to observe the visit. The researcher would also attend Healthy Child clinics during the 5 days based within the team. Following initial observation of core contacts, the researcher will then also conduct one-to-one interviews with Health Visitors who have consented to participate in the study. The aim of the interviews is to explore Health Visitor engagement with fathers in greater depth than observation alone would provide. It is also an opportunity to verify any key aspects that have been noted during the observations.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0697
Date of REC Opinion
23 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion