Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an educational program designed to promote first-time fathers’ participation in childcare and household chores.
Methods: The study design was a randomized controlled trial. Participants were 48 first-time Japanese fathers. Participants were assigned by block randomization to either an intervention group (n=24) or a control group (n=24). The intervention was conducted once between the 1st and 5th day after childbirth. The primary outcomes were the amount of time fathers spent on childcare and household chores. The secondary outcomes were acceptance of the father’s role in childcare and household chores, confidence in childcare ability, and sense of burden related to childcare. Follow-up was conducted1 month after childbirth. Two-factor repeated measures analysis of variance was performed to compare the amount of time spent on childcare and household chores in both the intervention and control groups.
Results: The amount of time spent on household chores significantly increased in the intervention group. In addition,acceptance of thefather’s role in household chores and confidence in childcare ability significantly increased in the intervention group. However, no significant differences were found in the time spent on childcare.
Conclusion: The results suggest that the educational program introduced in this study promoted firsttime fathers’ participation in household chores.