Project Grant R21HD112617

This $461,662 federal Project Grant awarded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865) will fund a study to adapt and evaluate the Text4Father mHealth intervention to directly reach first-time expectant fathers using social media. The goal is to improve infant and family health outcomes by increasing first-time fathers' infant care self-efficacy and engagement during the prenatal and postnatal periods. The researchers will assess the efficacy, acceptability, and reach of the adapted Text4Father program when delivered to fathers enrolled in one of three study arms: Text4Father, attention control, or usual care. They will also recruit expectant mothers to triangulate outcome data on fathers' interactions with mothers and other caregivers. This is the first national-scale study evaluating an mHealth approach to engage first-time expectant fathers using social media recruitment. The results will inform a larger randomized trial to determine the potential for using a national texting program with social media to reach and support a diverse sample of first-time fathers.