On the occasion of Father's Day, a study by the University of Navarra's NursingSchool addresses how the role of the father has changed and what are his current needs to play his new role in a healthy way.

Being a new parent in the 21st century is far from its traditional consideration. Social changes and the incorporation of women in work demand from the parent a complete involvement in the care of the newborn. The demand for a proactive attitude implies the acquisition of new behaviors for which many parents do not feel prepared. Marta Vidaurreta, manager lead author of the study, investigates how to promote a "healthy transition" in new parents. The author points out that this knowledge "will help nursing professionals to guide, orient and empower new parents in the development of their new role".

Moving from husband to father causes major life changes that can be accompanied by anxiety. What is expected of them or how they can help their partners with breastfeeding are issues that worry them. According to the expert " nurses have a fundamental role in addressing these concerns by encouraging fathers to make a progressive transition to parenthood feeling accompanied, valued and integrated".

From this approach emerges the concept of "paternal self-efficacy", an indicator that determines how effective a father perceives himself to be in the exercise of his new role. The researcher states that "self-efficacy can play an important role in incorporating and maintaining healthy behaviors in the family" since a positive perception can mean "more than 50% probability of achieving these behaviors".

This work aims to optimize healthcare for new fathers by learning about the current transition to fatherhood and the best interventions to improve fathers' sense of well-being in the face of their new vital status . The goal is to help fathers "master new behaviors and relationships required to effectively perform their new role," says Vidaurreta.

The study, which stems from project SINERGIA of the School de Enfermería, will be carried out with new parents in the Autonomous Community of Navarra, with the hope of having results by 2016.