Clinical trial · Interventional
Determining the Effectiveness of Working Out Dads to Reduce Mental Health Difficulties in Fathers of Young Children
The Working Out Dads (WOD) Trial: Comparing the Effectiveness of a Group Peer-Support Intervention (WOD) With Usual Care in Reducing the Mental Health Difficulties of Fathers of Young Children
NCT04813042CI-TRIAL-00099625WODactive not recruitingN/AClinicalTrials.gov clinicaltrialsProvenance
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This is an individually randomised trial, where Working Out Dads (WOD) will be delivered as a group intervention. Participants will be randomised to one of two groups: either WOD or usual care.The trial aims to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WOD, a 6-week week group-based peer support intervention, in reducing fathers' mental health difficulties in early parenthood.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental Health Issue | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual care | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Working Out Dads | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Working Out Dads
- description
- Fathers allocated to the Working Out Dads (WOD) arm will receive the intervention program. WOD is a 6-week manualised program. The weekly 90 minute sessions combine a one hour facilitated discussion by a male facilitator trained in delivery of WOD and a 30-minute gym workout provided by a personal trainer. The group size ranges from 6-10 fathers, with 14 groups running over the study period. The weekly sessions are provided in the evenings, in local gyms or a community setting (e.g., maternal child health centre, local council rooms, local hall, local park, Tweddle Child \& Family Health Service).
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Working Out Dads
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Usual Care
- description
- Fathers allocated to the Usual Care arm will receive the clinical care typically provided to parents experiencing mental health difficulties by an Early Parenting Centre or community health service. Within 2 weeks of baseline assessment, Usual Care participants will receive a brief psychological consultation from Tweddle's Clinical Manager.
- interventionNames
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Male
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Be aged 18 years or older * Be biological or step-father, or male caregiver of a child aged 0-4 years * Be in regular weekly contact with the child, even if non-resident parent * Be sufficiently fluent in English to complete surveys and participate in the intervention * Have mental health difficulties above the symptomatic cut-point (score of 20+) on the K10. AND/OR • Have at least two risk factors for poor mental health/suicide including: (a) history of mental health difficulties; (b) relationship difficulties; (c) high work-related stress; (d) unemployment; or (e) have a child with sleep difficulties, a disability, chronic illness or other special health care need. Exclusion Criteria: * Has a severe mental health disorder - self reported psychosis, substance use dependency, prescribed anti-psychotic medication that may require more intensive mental health interventions and treatment * Has an overt indicator of family violence - self-reported intervention order or court case for family violence * Has child protection service involvement
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDGiallo R, Seymour M, Fogarty A, Hosking C, Williams LA, Cooklin A, Grobler A, Ride J, Leach L, Oldenburg B, Wood C, Borschmann R, O'Brien J, Evans K, Treyvaud K, Garfield C, Brown S, Nicholson J. Working out dads (WOD): a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a group-based peer support intervention for men experiencing mental health difficulties in early fatherhood. BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 12;22(1):111. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03698-5. PMID 35151305