The Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium (AFRC) was established in April 2017 at the Fatherhood Research in Australia Symposium II, held at Deakin University, Melbourne and co-hosted by the Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle.

This consortium aims to:

1. Advance the science of fatherhood;
2. Inform practice and policy that supports men and their families;
3. Promote healthy inclusion of fathers in family life.

Four working groups co-ordinate the national multi-site and multi-institutional collaboration. Our first domain of enquiry was fatherhood and sleep, specifically associations between fathers’ sleep and mental health. Three publications have already emerged from this body of work.

Sleep, mental health and wellbeing among fathers of infants up to one year postpartum: A scoping review (Literature Review Group)

How are you sleeping? Starting the conversation with fathers about their mental health in the early parenting years (Data and Analysis Group)

Preconception factors associated with postnatal mental health and suicidality among first-time fathers: results from an Australian Longitudinal Study of Men’s Health (Data and Analysis Group)