Researcher
Becky White, Curtin University
PhD title
Parent Infant Feeding Initiative: Evaluating the effectiveness of a socially connected breastfeeding smartphone application targeting fathers
Summary
“Milk Man is a socially connected, gamified breastfeeding app for fathers. It has been developed by a multidisciplinary team in consultation with fathers and stakeholders and is grounded in behaviour change theory. Research shows father support is a significant factor influencing a woman’s breastfeeding behaviour, yet men can feel unprepared for their paternal role in breastfeeding. The app aims to engage men with information and conversations about breastfeeding and early parenting. We hypothesis that this will increase paternal support for breastfeeding, which will result in increased breastfeeding duration. Milk Man is currently being tested in the PIFI RCT.”
The finals of the 2017 Asia-Pacific Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which challenges PhD students to communicate their research in a snappy three-minute presentation, were held on the 29 September at the University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus. Competitors came from 55 Universities from across Australia, New Zealand and North and South-East Asia.
The presentations were judged by distinguished figures in Australian science including Cosmos editor-in-chief Elizabeth Finkel.
