FCHIP Quarterly
March 2024
This month, our updates focus on FCHIP's PRAMS for Dads project, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for Dads. For a general overview of the project, check out our two-pager on the FCHIP website.
FCHIP in the News
Last month, Senator Reverend Warnock expressed strong support for PRAMS for Dads in a letter to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

He stated, "As a dad myself, I know that the transition into the life-changing and important role of fatherhood can be a powerful lever for change."

Representatives Jimmy Gomez, Lauren Underwood, and Alma Adams let an effort to urge Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to support funding that would expand PRAMS for Dads to six additional states. Eighteen members of the Congressional Dads Caucus and Black Maternal Health Caucus signed onto the letter to Secretary Becerra, which emphasizes the impact fathers have on maternal and infant health.

The letter was featured in a press release on Rep. Gomez's website and in the March 5 edition of the Washington Post's The Health 202.
In a recent interview, White Sox catcher Max Stassi discussed his experience around the birth of his son, who spent 198 days in the NICU at Prentice Women's Hospital. During that time, Stassi attended the NICU Dads group led by FCHIP's Founder Dr. Craig Garfield. About the group, Stassi said, "To be in that room and to chat with [other dads], it was very special, and I'll always be thankful for that."

Inaugural PRAMS for Dads Multi-Site Meeting
In February, the FCHIP team gathered virtually with representatives from each of the five states currently implementing PRAMS for Dads. We heard from each state about unique aspects of their fatherhood survey project, reasons why they chose to start PRAMS for Dads in their state, and their plans for using the data. As a result of the success of this meeting and feedback from attendees, we plan to hold virtual conversations with all PRAMS for Dads sites at least twice a year going forward.
DAD Pilot Grant Update from Jessica Fry, MD, and Kerri Machut, MD
Drs. Machut and Fry were awarded a Different Approaches to Data (DAD) Pilot Grant in 2022 for their project, Evaluating the Culture of Family-Centered Care in the Lurie Children's NICU. They recently provided the following update on their work:

"Our NICU Family-Centered Care research team recently concluded our final analysis and is currently working on drafting a manuscript submission to share the results. Over the year of our study’s duration, we were able to recruit 92 unique NICU families and 96 staff members to complete a validated tool to measure perceptions on the culture of family-centered care in our unit. Our group of NICU parent participants included approximately 30% non-birthing parents. Across multiple domains measured, NICU staff members scored their own ability to provide family-centered care as lower than what parents reported experiencing. We hypothesize that targeted staff education could serve to strengthen the local culture of family-centered care.
 
"The team plans to use this as pilot data for future grant submissions to further their investigation into interventions that may improve family-centered care in the NICU. We remain very grateful to the FCHIP team for their support to assist recruitment of diverse voices and data analysis."