Association of a Family Integrated Care Model With Paternal Mental Health Outcomes During Neonatal Hospitalization

IMPORTANCE During newborn hospitalization in the neonatal unit, fathers often feel anxious and excluded from their child's caregiving and decision-making. Few studies and interventions have focused on fathers' mental health and their participation in neonatal care. OBJECTIVE To study the association of a family integrated care (FICare) model (in single family rooms with complete couplet-care for the mother-newborn dyad) vs standard neonatal care (SNC) in open bay units with separate maternity care with mental health outcomes in fathers at hospital discharge of their preterm newborn and to study whether parent participation was a mediator of the association of the FICare model on outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This prospective, multicenter cohort study was conducted from May 2017 to January 2020 as part of the fAMily Integrated Care in the Neonatal Ward Study, at level-2 neonatal units in the Netherlands (1 using the FICare model and 2 control sites using SNC). Participants included fathers of preterm newborns admitted to participating units. Data analysis was performed from January to April 2021. EXPOSURE FICare model in single family rooms with complete couplet-care for the mother-newborn dyad during maternity and/or neonatal care. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Paternal mental health was measured using the Parental Stress Scale: NICU, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Post-partum Bonding Questionnaire, Perceived (Maternal) Parenting Self-efficacy Scale, and satisfaction with care (EMpowerment of PArents in THe Intensive Care-Neonatology). Parent participation (CO-PARTNER tool) was assessed as a potential mediator of the association of the FICare model with outcomes with mediation analyses (prespecified). RESULTS Of 309 families included in the fAMily Integrated Care in the Neonatal Ward Study, 263 fathers (85%) agreed to participate; 126 fathers were enrolled in FICare and 137 were enrolled in SNC. In FICare, 89 fathers (71%; mean [SD] age, 35.1 [4.8] years) responded to questionnaires and were analyzed. In SNC, 93 fathers (68%; mean [SD] age, 36.4 [5.5] years) responded to questionnaires and were analyzed. Fathers in FICare experienced less stress (adjusted beta, -10.02; 95% CI, -15.91 to -4.13; P=.001) and had higher participation scores (adjusted odds ratio, 3.424; 95% CI, 0.860 to 5.988; P=.009) compared with those in SNC. Participation mediated the beneficial association of the FICare model with fathers' depressive symptoms (indirect effect, -0.051; 95% CI, -0.133 to -0.003) and bonding with their newborns (indirect effect, -0.082; 95% CI, -0.177 to -0.015). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These findings suggest that the FICare model is associated with decreased paternal stress at discharge and enables fathers to be present and participate more than SNC, thus improving paternal mental health. Supporting fathers to actively participate in all aspects of newborn care should be encouraged regardless of architectural design of the neonatal unit.