Affiliation:
1. Senior Health Visitor Research Lead, Institute of Health Visiting, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Australia, Queen's Nurse
2. MECSH Service User
Abstract
It is widely recognised that fathers play an important role in the family unit, both in supporting maternal psychological wellbeing, and promoting children's mental health and development. This article presents a personal perspective of a father's experience of the Maternal and Early Childhood Sustained Home visiting programme (MECSH) delivered by a health visiting service in London. The article has been co-authored by a service user and a professional, a novel approach to presenting the voice of lived experience in health visiting publications. The co-production process of writing the article is discussed, acknowledging the strengths and limitations, rewards and challenges, and the strategies used along the way. Service user co-authorship in health visiting peer-reviewed publications contributes to the current national nursing research agenda to further public involvement, while providing valuable insights into the understanding of lived experiences.