Recruitment, Retention, and Intervention Outcomes from the Dedicated African American Dad (DAAD) Study

Abstract

A significant proportion of African American (AA) fathers live in households apart from their young children. This living arrangement can have detrimental effects for children, families, and fathers. One hundred seventy-eight (n = 178) AA fathers, not residing with their 2-6-year-old children, were enrolled in a randomized trial to test the Building Bridges to Fatherhood (BBTF) program against a financial literacy comparison condition. BBTF is an intervention that was developed collaboratively with a fathers' advisory council of AA fathers who oversaw all aspects of program development. Based upon advisory council feedback, short video scenes captured fathers interacting with their children, their children's mothers, and other fathers. These video scenes were used to jump start the discussion around fatherhood, parenting, communication, and problem solving during the intervention group meetings. The actors in the video scenes were recruited from the community. Two trained group leaders, using a standardized group leader manual, delivered the intervention. The Money Smart Financial Literacy Program (MSFLP), which served as the comparator, was also delivered by AA men. Program satisfaction was high in both conditions. Even so recruitment and retention challenges influenced the ability to detect father and child outcomes. This study informs the participation of vulnerable urban AA fathers in community-based fatherhood intervention research and provides insight into bolstering engagement in studies focused on this population.

Preliminary Evaluation of a Citizen Scientist Educational Curriculum Aimed at Engaging Black Men in Lung Cancer Early Detection Screening

“…The Murray Model is an adaptation of multiple theoretical frameworks and conceptual models, including the health belief model, community empowerment model, elements of community-based participatory research, and ideas of “manhood.” Given the explicit focus on community engagement with African American men, the Murray model is appropriate to the overarching objectives of this study. Furthermore, the model has been cited in three peer-reviewed manuscripts since being published in 2019, indicating its use and applicability for community-engaged health research ( Julion et al., 2021 ; Tharakan et al, 2022 ; Watson et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The Murray model was based on the adaptation of multiple theoretical frameworks and conceptual models, including the health belief model, community empowerment model, elements of community-based participatory research, and ideas of "manhood" (Courtenay, 2000;Israel et al, 2013). The Murray Model (see Figure 1) is a culturally specific adaptation of the community empowerment model that has been used to inform the equitable engagement of African Americans in health research design and implementation (Julion et al, 2021;Tharakan et al, 2022;Watson et al, 2020). The model posits that interventions to advance health equity among African Americans require the integration of four fundamental tenets.…”

“…Given the explicit focus on community engagement with African American men, the Murray model is appropriate to the overarching objectives of this study. Furthermore, the model has been cited in three peer-reviewed manuscripts since being published in 2019, indicating its use and applicability for communityengaged health research (Julion et al, 2021;Tharakan et al, 2022;Watson et al, 2020).…”

Recruiting Perinatal Fathers to Interventions and Research: A Conceptual Model of Engagement and Integrative Review of Barriers Encountered and Strategies Used

“…Concrete barriers to paternal recruitment have been reported for issues such as transportation problems, the availability of remote/electronic participation, legal status requirements (e.g., immigration documented, biological father), hours the activity is available, and cost of or incentives for participating [28,52,58]. The idea that paternal engagement in perinatal activities is precluded by fathers' employment has been essentially debunked, as scheduling flexibility successfully overcomes this barrier [32].…”

“…Systematically tracking the impact of different recruitment and engagement strategies (i.e., including the perspectives of engaged clients as well as those who declined) and the occurrence of barriers to participation experienced can inform improvement over time [63]. Gaining consumer perspectives and feedback on all aspects of recruitment and engagement has been consistently cited as a key to success [29,58,[103][104][105].…”