Consulting With First Nations Communities to Develop Text-Based Support for Grieving Fathers

Abstract

Background

The loss occasioned through miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death is recognised as a traumatic event causing grief and sorrow in fathers. While the rate of Indigenous perinatal deaths is almost twice that of non-Indigenous, there is little support available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander grieving fathers.

Objective

The SMS4DeadlyDads team partnered with Red Nose, the national charity supporting grieving parents, to co-design text-based support for grieving fathers with community representatives and clinicians.

Design

A 2-year consultation process with Indigenous services and stakeholders took place in urban and remote locations in Australia. The support for fathers following perinatal loss was assessed, and messages were adapted from those for non-Indigenous fathers and evaluated. Final messages were reviewed by Red Nose clinicians for optimal delivery timing.

Results

Community representatives noted the lack of support for new fathers. The culturally appropriate SMS4Deadlydads service delivering text messages to new fathers' mobile phones was welcomed as ‘something for dads’ and the potential to provide confidential support in cases of perinatal loss was recognised. The resulting set of messages was acceptable to indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders.

Conclusions

The successful development of the messages for Indigenous fathers demonstrates that respectful consultation led by experienced Indigenous leaders can ensure cultural safety and gain community commitment to address highly sensitive topics.

Public Contribution

Indigenous community representatives and stakeholder service were involved in deciding on the value of the text messaging approach to fathers' grief, the identification of message topics, the wording used in the texts and the linked resources.