Investigators: Susan Prescott
Supporting the health of fathers in early childhood could have a range of benefits for fathers and their young children. The CARE-Dads Study is aimed at providing expectant Dads with a health check-up.
Dads play an important role within the family as their involvement in child-rearing enhances the health of their children. Studies have shown that a father’s involvement in his child’s life can be associated with positive child outcomes. Improving the cardiovascular health of fathers may also improve their mental health in the first year of their child's life. This provides supportive factors for the neurodevelopment of young children.
A healthy dad is an important part of a nurturing early environment, ORIGINS will provide a range of studies to explore ways to improve the health of dads-to be – the CARE-Dads Study is the first step.
The aim of the CARE-Dads study is to evaluate the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in expectant fathers. The CARE-Dads study will involve 1,000 expectant fathers. Participation involves two time points, once during pregnancy and then at or around the ORIGINS clinic visit when their child is one year of age.