ABSTRACT

Father engagement in home visiting programs is beneficial to the family and increases program retention. This qualitative evaluation explored occupational barriers to fathers’ involvement in their child’s life and engagement in Florida Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs through 29 focus groups conducted with 114 Florida MIECHV staff across eight counties and 15 interviews conducted with fathers of enrolled children/infants in seven counties. Conversations were recorded, transcribed, and coded using inductive thematic analysis. Results showed that father’s work was the most referenced of logistical factors (fathers’ work, living situation, program scheduling, and transportation) impacting father engagement in the program. Specific work factors included type of occupation, work precarity, work schedule, and the family’s reliance on father’s income. The results suggest that for the majority of fathers, not engaging in the MIECHV program is due to work demands rather than a lack of interest.

摘要

父亲参与家访计划对家庭有益，并能提高计划保留率。这项定性评估通过与 8 个县的 114 名佛罗里达州 MIECHV 工作人员进行的 29 个焦点小组以及对父亲们进行的 15 次访谈，探讨了父亲参与孩子生活和参与佛罗里达州孕产妇、婴儿和幼儿家访 (MIECHV) 计划的职业障碍。在七个县注册了儿童/婴儿。使用归纳主题分析对对话进行记录、转录和编码。结果显示，在影响父亲参与项目的后勤因素（父亲的工作、生活状况、项目安排和交通）中，父亲的工作是最受参考的。具体工作因素包括职业类型、工作不稳定、工作时间表、以及家庭对父亲收入的依赖。结果表明，对于大多数父亲来说，不参加 MIECHV 计划是因为工作需要，而不是缺乏兴趣。