Dr Vincent Mancini, a Senior Research Fellow at The Kids Research Institute Australia, has been awarded a prestigious three-year Fellowship to develop and implement an intervention to support the welfare of regional WA fathers and families in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The 2025 EMCR Fellowship in Preventive Health for Priority Populations awarded to Dr Mancini is funded by the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund and The Hospital Research Foundation Group-WA.
Dr Mancini, also from The University of Western Australia, said nearly one in five Australian babies are born preterm or with complications that will see them admitted to a NICU, and families outside of metropolitan areas in Western Australia are more likely to be admitted to a NICU.
“A NICU admission is often unexpected and distressing, both physically and psychologically, and for families in rural, regional and remote locations in WA, it typically requires a sudden relocation to Perth,” Dr Mancini said.
“For many families, a NICU admission may also be for many months, amplifying the psychological distress for both mothers and fathers (or non-birthing parents).”
Dr Mancini said a NICU admission is known to have long-lasting consequences on child development, as well as on the mental health and wellbeing of parents.
“The involvement and support of fathers in the NICU is known to improve outcomes for both babies and mothers, and evidence shows that family-integrated care in the NICU – which involves empowering parents as partners in the care of their newborns – greatly benefits babies and families,” Dr Mancini said.
“However, fathers – especially those from regional areas – face extra barriers to involvement and during our consultation with WA families with lived experience of the NICU, those living outside of metropolitan areas encountered unique challenges that greatly amplified the distress of these already traumatic births.
“This includes not only emergency relocation to Perth, but separation from key sources of social support, making difficult decisions regarding employment and childcare, and financial constraints associated with temporary accommodation.”
The Fellowship will allow Dr Mancini to co-design, trial, and evaluate a program designed to support the mental health and involvement of WA fathers from regional, rural, and remote communities who have a baby admitted to a NICU.
“Our project will develop targeted support for fathers and families who must temporarily relocate to Perth so their babies can access lifesaving treatment,” Dr Mancini said.
“Through a community-informed co-design process that builds on our strong foundation of existing research and partnerships with WA NICUs and families, this work will ensure that rural, regional and remote fathers and families with a NICU baby receive the support when they need it, as they need it.