1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The goals of this study are to (a) develop interventions to support marital adjustment during the transition to first-time parenthood, (b) evaluate their usefulness, and (c) determine their practicability for family physicians conducting routine perinatal consultations. » (p. 166)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
4 médecins et 8 couples

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien
Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

« Studies have shown that anticipatory guidance can help pregnant couples and new parents adjust to this stage of family life. A participatory study based on a constructivist evaluation methodology was set up to identify and experiment with such interventions and to integrate them into regular medical consultations. Four physicians, eight couples, and the investigator collaborated to discuss, experiment, and evaluate the interventions in an iterative and interactive research process. The participants identified specific interventions that were useful to the couples’ adjustment and practicable for the physicians. Five categories of interventions were perceived as being useful: (a) facilitating the fathers’ participation during consultations, (b) assessing the couples’ adjustment, (c) offering information, (d) supporting the couples’ adjustment, and (e) setting an agenda for consultations. Of these, only intervention that aimed to facilitate the father’s participation were deemed practicable. Mainly because of time constraints, the others were perceived to be too difficult to include in consultations. The participants, therefore, considered how consultations might be better structured in order to find the time. The study suggests that collaboration through participatory research could be of particular interest to help clinicians improve their professional practices with couples. » (p. 165)