Fathers Matter: Enhancing Healthcare Experiences Among Fathers of Children With Developmental Disabilities.
Tatiana Ogourtsova, Maureen E O'Donnell, Derrick Chung and 3 others
PMID 36188790WHAT IT FOUND
Fathers of children with disabilities said they were involved, but clinicians said fathers were less involved.
Seven fathers and 13 clinicians described ways to include fathers: direct attention, explain, take time, and accommodate schedules.
Key findings
01Fathers reported 57.1 to 85.7% were moderately to very much involved in healthcare, while healthcare professionals reported 92.3 to 100% that fathers were only slightly to moderately involved.
02Fathers reported that 57.1% said healthcare professionals were only sometimes attentive to them, though all reported forming good relationships.
03The most common barrier was father-related factors, accounting for 39.1% of barriers, and most solutions, 65.7%, were directed at healthcare professionals.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 7 fathers and 13 healthcare professionals took part, and recruitment was by convenience and snowball sampling, so the findings may not represent all families or clinicians. The fathers were all Caucasian, biological parents, and full-time workers, and they volunteered, so they may have been more engaged than many fathers of children with disabilities. No physical therapists were among the healthcare professionals, so the findings are not based on PT participants. The study used a rating survey and interviews, not a tested intervention, so it reports experiences and suggestions, not proof that changes improve outcomes. The authors suggested that the difference between father and clinician reports may reflect selection and response bias.
Declared interests
No commercial or financial relationships were declared. The study was funded by the Richard and Edith Strauss Foundation in Knowledge Translation, received at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University. Infrastructure support came from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center, Montreal Children's Hospital, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal, funded by FRQS. One author was supported by the CHILD-BRIGHT Network and CRIR.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that involving fathers or changing clinician communication improves child or family outcomes. The study reports experiences and suggestions from 7 fathers and 13 healthcare professionals, not tested interventions.