Effect of paternity leave or fathers' parental leave on infant health: a systematic review protocol.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the systematic review will be to evaluate the effect of paternity leave or fathers' parental leave on infant mortality rate, hospitalization, vaccination compliance, and breastfeeding duration.

INTRODUCTION

Current studies indicate that paternity leave positively affects infant health, but there is a significant lack of synthesized research on its impact on key infant health indicators. A systematic review of the existing evidence will help identify best practices and guide further research and policy development in this area.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

The proposed systematic review will include studies such as experimental, quasi-experimental, and analytic observational studies, conducted among infants less than 1 year of age, exploring the effect of fathers' paternity leave or fathers' parental leave on the identified infant health outcomes.

METHODS

The review will follow the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of effectiveness. A 3-step search strategy will be used, with no date or language restrictions. Study selection will also follow a 3-step process, including critical appraisal to determine methodological quality. Each step will be conducted by 2 independent reviewers; disagreements will be resolved through discussion or with other team members. The team will extract data using standardized templates, then synthesize and conduct meta-analysis, if possible. If not, narrative synthesis will be conducted. Finally, the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to determine certainty of evidence will be used to create a summary of findings.

REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42024502533.