In October of 2022, the Steelcase Foundation awarded the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago a three-year $620,203 grant to create, implement, and analyze a public health survey to gain valuable insights on the experiences of fathers during their transition to parenthood. Currently, there is no public health survey collecting data about the experience of fathers, specially around the transition to fatherhood, similar to data collected in the national PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey) which has collected data around the experience of mothers before, during, and after birth since 1987.

Dr. Craig Garfield and a team from the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Lurie) created the PRAMs for Dads survey to fill this current gap, collecting comprehensive data around men’s health and their experiences during the transition to fatherhood. The survey data includes links between paternal factors and pregnancy, maternal, and infant outcomes. Dr. Garfield and team launched a Detroit for Dads survey in 2021 in partnership with the Kresge Foundation and will kicked off the Kent County Fatherhood Survey at the start of the year to gain insights from Michigan’s two largest populations, Detroit Metro and Kent County. 

“Having a reliable source of information to see how men are impacted by the transition to fatherhood is an important first step in understanding how best to support families and children today,” said Dr. Garfield, lead author on the study and founder of the Family & Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP) at Lurie Children’s. The Kent County Fatherhood Survey will provide tangible data about fathers in Kent County to understand their experiences and needs, leading to better supports for whole families. 

We’re excited to support this effort to lift-up the experiences of local fathers and long-term impacts of better data around the needs of families in our community. 

Click here to learn more about the Kent County Fatherhood Survey.