The preconception health and health behaviors of Australian first-time fathers: a cross-sectional study
The preconception health and health behaviors of Australian first-time fathers: a cross-sectional study
Preconception health can be optimized through preconception care, which is considered an effective catalyst for behavior change prior to parenthood and is of paramount importance due to the influence that health behaviors can have on pregnancy and offspring outcomes. The preconception health and preconception health behaviors of males before they become fathers for the first time remain underexplored and are an emerging area of interest for public health and reproductive health research. This article is the first report and quantitative cross-sectional analysis of the national dataset pertaining to male health, Ten to Men, reporting data relevant to male health across the life course, during preconception. This report offers research foresight into the health behaviors (e.g., smoking or alcohol), health conditions, health consultations, medications, health information, and health literacy of Australian males prior to becoming a father (
n = 572). The findings of this research support an undervalued albeit indispensable research area by providing up-to-date evidence-based information regarding paternal preconception health and health behaviors. This public health research with a focus on paternal preconception health behaviors and health behavior change can only strengthen the call for preventive health and offer preconception health and preventive knowledge about males for the research community and practitioners.
first-time fathers, health behaviors, preconception
Carter, Tristan
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Schoenaker, Danielle
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Adams, Jon
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Steel, Amie
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Carter, Tristan
d32affa0-004c-4a98-aa1b-024eb3defd47
Schoenaker, Danielle
84b96b87-4070-45a5-9777-5a1e4e45e818
Adams, Jon
12b2c9e7-6fdb-41e3-8d4d-33a44ceffb3e
Steel, Amie
947b68e3-582e-4040-b2c0-1927f0d30932
Carter, Tristan, Schoenaker, Danielle, Adams, Jon and Steel, Amie
(2026)
The preconception health and health behaviors of Australian first-time fathers: a cross-sectional study.
Health Education & Behaviour.
(doi:10.1177/10901981251414635).
Abstract
Preconception health can be optimized through preconception care, which is considered an effective catalyst for behavior change prior to parenthood and is of paramount importance due to the influence that health behaviors can have on pregnancy and offspring outcomes. The preconception health and preconception health behaviors of males before they become fathers for the first time remain underexplored and are an emerging area of interest for public health and reproductive health research. This article is the first report and quantitative cross-sectional analysis of the national dataset pertaining to male health, Ten to Men, reporting data relevant to male health across the life course, during preconception. This report offers research foresight into the health behaviors (e.g., smoking or alcohol), health conditions, health consultations, medications, health information, and health literacy of Australian males prior to becoming a father (
n = 572). The findings of this research support an undervalued albeit indispensable research area by providing up-to-date evidence-based information regarding paternal preconception health and health behaviors. This public health research with a focus on paternal preconception health behaviors and health behavior change can only strengthen the call for preventive health and offer preconception health and preventive knowledge about males for the research community and practitioners.
Text
carter-et-al-2026-the-preconception-health-and-health-behaviors-of-australian-first-time-fathers-a-cross-sectional-study
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e-pub ahead of print date: 24 January 2026
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© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Keywords:
first-time fathers, health behaviors, preconception
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Local EPrints ID: 510077
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/510077
ISSN: 1090-1981
PURE UUID: f1ed2fbe-b67c-4691-a888-3e75363509ef
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Date deposited: 17 Mar 2026 17:33
Last modified: 18 Mar 2026 03:00
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Author:
Tristan Carter
Author:
Jon Adams
Author:
Amie Steel
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