Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42359151›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2026

Fatherhood among healthcare workers: perceived work-family conflict and its influential factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional and exploratory longitudinal findings from the VOICE study.

Sabine Mogwitz, Jona Körber, Lucia Jerg-Bretzke, Christian Albus, Andreas M Baranowski, Petra Beschoner, Yesim Erim, Franziska Geiser, Eva Morawa, Susann Steudte-Schmiedgen and 2 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Sabine MogwitzDepartment of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Jona KörberDepartment of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Lucia Jerg-BretzkeDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany.
Christian AlbusDepartment of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Cologne, Germany.
Andreas M BaranowskiDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Clinic of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Petra BeschonerDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, Germany.
Yesim ErimDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
Franziska GeiserDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Clinic of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Eva MorawaDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
Susann Steudte-SchmiedgenDepartment of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Gloria-Beatrice WintermannDepartment of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Kerstin WeidnerDepartment of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The increased mental distress among healthcare workers (HCW) during the COVID-19 pandemic has been well documented. Frontline research has rarely focused on fathers among HCW. This web-based multi-center study aimed to evaluate work-family conflict (WFC) among HCW fathers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Work-family conflict was assessed in cross-sectional, partly overlapping subsamples of 2,844 fathers across four time points (T1: Results: Fathers reported higher WFC at T1-T3, with levels comparable to mothers, except at T2, when fathers exceeded them. WFC increased from T1 to T4. Risk factors included higher workload, exhaustion, moral concerns, and lower institutional trust, with exploratory longitudinal evidence pointing to a growing protective role of institutional trust against WFC over time. Younger age, cohabitation, children in the household, contact with COVID-19 and full-time employment were also linked to higher WFC. More fathers were working full-time than childless male colleagues. Conclusion: Our findings underscore that WFC among HCW fathers is a structural issue that requires targeted workplace adaptations during crises. Addressing fathers' caregiving roles through flexible and culturally sensitive policies will be crucial to mitigate conflict and promote sustainable work-family integration. Future research should examine causal pathways to develop tailored work-life balance models for fathers.

Indexed as

COVID-19FathersHealth PersonnelAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleFrontline WorkersHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedRole ConflictSARS-CoV-2WorkloadCOVID-19 pandemicfatherhoodfathershealthcare workersmental healthwork–family conflict

Identifiers

PMID42359151
PMCPMC13292114

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.