Fathers Involvement and Health: What is the Connection? Jessica
Ball, MPH, PhD School of Child and Youth Care University of
Victoria Slide 2 Does fathers involvement directly affect child
health? Fathering defined: more than paternity Father involvement:
direct father-child interaction e.g. care-giving, playing, taking
to dentist What are direct impacts on child health? Slide 3 Does
fathers involvement indirectly affect child health? Fathers
contributions to childs environment e.g. generating family income,
relationship with childs mother, housing, community interface What
are indirect impacts of fathers behaviour beyond the child on the
childs health? On fathers health? Slide 4 Is being involved as a
father good for mens health? Slide 5 What do we know? Common
knowledge: its self-evident Values-driven assumptions or biases:
Fathers play essential roles in childrens lives Every child needs a
father Little research based evidence Why? Slide 6 Its a moms world
after all. Mother- centrism: research, policies & programs
focus on maternal-child well-being Burden of care for children
falls more to women (traditionally & with increase in lone
mother households) Priority for investments (e.g., Maternal Child
Health programs, Canadian Prenatal Nutrition and Pregnancy Outreach
Program) Slide 7 Limitations of how we are looking at fathering
Problems with measuring fathering Father absence: separation,
divorce, non-custodial Fathers time spent with child: quantity vs
quality Direct involvement vs indirect contributions Slide 8 Slide
9 Slide 10 Slide 11 Slide 12 Slide 13 Focus of more research on
development than on health. But a health-based rationale for
supporting fathers involvement is likely to attract more social
investments. How would we measure health outcomes separate from
developmental outcomes? Slide 14 Slide 15 Focus of research on
effects of father absence rather than effects of varying forms of
father presence Slide 16 Some evidence of positive effects of
fathering on the father Slide 17 What other ways could we ask
questions about fathers contributions to child & family health?
Slide 18 Slide 19 Slide 20 Multiple impacts Multi-generational
implications Slide 21 To find out more www.ecdip.org
