Australian Health Promotion Association

Richard Fletcher

Introduction: Recent evidence of the effect of fathers’ perinatal depression on their children’s development and reports of fathers’ positive impact on both depressed mothers and their infants suggest that fathers may require support if either they or their spouses are at risk of depression.1-4 Existing postnatal screening and support services are designed to address mothers’ needs and it is unclear how to provide information and support to fathers.5,6 The internet, which is able to deliver support to parents without the need to attend a clinic, offers a possible route for delivering support to new fathers7 and there are now numerous health-related  websites offering information and support on the topic of postnatal depression.

This study aimed to test a set of father-inclusive guidelines (FIG) by applying them to the perinatal depression information offered by a range of health and parenting websites and communicating the results to the websites concerned.

Issue addressed: This study examines the application of father-inclusive guidelines to website information intended to address perinatal depression.
Methods: A set of evidence-based guidelines was developed and applied to a sample of Australian health and parenting websites to derive a ‘father-inclusiveness’ score for their perinatal depression-related material. The scores for each website’s material and a rationale for the project were conveyed to the website managers.
Results: Father-inclusive scores overall were modest, with most websites obtaining less than half the possible points. Few websites provided information to support fathers’ connection with their infants or provided opportunities for fathers to interact with other fathers. Most website managers responded positively when informed of their (relatively low) score and changes to the websites were indicated.
Conclusions: Father-inclusive guidelines may assist health and parenting websites to more effectively target information and support for fathers in families with perinatal depression.
So what? Providing fathers with information and support can improve child and family outcomes when one or both parents have perinatal depression. Websites can use father-inclusive guidelines to better deliver this information and support.

Health Promotion Journal of Australia 2011; 22: 231-3