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Citation
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Souza BG, Evangelista de Melo T, Pereira Lisboa T, Bastos Miranda M, Schroder E Souza TG, de Oliveira VM. Traffic Injury Prev. 2017; 18(2): 171-174. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: to obtain information about the current knowledge and habits of parents who transport children in cars in Brazil.
METHODS: a cross-sectional survey was conducted using specifically designed self-responded questionnaires, to parents of children attending a private pediatric office in town in southwest Brazil. Data was collected about children's age, gender, height and weight, possession of automobile children's restraint systems (CRS), its type, frequency and adequacy of use, reasons for not possessing or not using the devices. Parents were asked if their cars were equipped with airbags and about the use of the restraints in seats with airbags.
RESULTS: We interviewed parents of 293 children that were transported in cars and met the criteria to use CRS. Children were younger than 1 year in 15.3% of the cases, had between one and four years in 38.6% and were older than four in 46.1%. Cars were equipped with CRS in 78.5% of the cases, but in only 58% of the cases the device was proper for age and adequately installed in the seat. Among owners of the devices, 84.3% reported they always used it. Reasons for infrequency were forgetting the device at home or in another car (6.4%), the child disliking the device (3.2%), the false impression that the child was grown enough not to use it (3.2%). 87.1% did not justify why they didn´t use it always. Considering type of CRS, the correct installation of the seat and frequency of use, only 44.4% of children under one year were considered protected, 69.9% of those from one to four years and 52.6% above that age. Only 28.6% of the parents adequately reckoned that children should never be positioned in a seat with active airbags.
CONCLUSION: Considering appropriateness for age, correctness of installation (in the back seat in the correct orientation) and frequency of use, only 50.85% (149/293) of the children were reported as always protected with a CRS. Children between one and four years were more likely to use the CRS always in this Brazilian survey. We were also able to identify an important gap in the knowledge about airbags among parents, in a time such equipment has become obligatory in Brazil. Further efforts are needed to correct those distortions.
Language: en |