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Citation
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Liu S, Zhou H, Ma J, Wang C, Chen Z, Chen S, Yang Y, Liu X, Peng J, Duan L, Deng X. Traffic Injury Prev. 2018; 19(1): 42-48. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE-A child safety restraint (CSR) is an effective measure to reduce the risk of child injury from traffic collisions. This study aims to explore knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding CSR in a Chinese population.
METHODS-A cross-sectional survey regarding CSR use was conducted from April to May 2014 in Shenzhen Municipality. Respondents were parents who had at least one child 0 to 6 years of age and simultaneously owned a car. These parents provided a self-report of demographic characteristics as well as information about their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward CSR use.
RESULTS-Most respondents had a fair level of knowledge about CSR with higher mean knowledge scores demonstrated among the respondents who were male, had an advanced degree, a higher income, owned an expensive car, had an older child, drove frequently with children and routinely drove greater distances with children. Meanwhile, most respondents had a more positive attitude toward CSR use with a higher mean attitude score among those who had an advanced degree, owned an expensive car, drove frequently with children and routinely drove a greater distance with children. However, some myths regarding CSR use also existed (e.g., parents can effectively protect their children in a car collision by holding them, they are not required to purchase the CSR for child safety if there is no mandatory provision by law, among others). Among 3768 respondents who had at least one child and a car, 27.8% (1047) had a CSR, and 22.9% (864) used the CSR. A logistic regression model showed the likelihood of CSR ownership to be higher if respondents drove frequently or greater distances and was dependent on both the educational level of the respondents and the age of the children. The frequency of CSR use increased as the age of children decreased (P = 0.0274). The respondents with CSR ownership and those with frequent use of CSR had higher mean knowledge and mean attitude scores.
CONCLUSIONS-This observational study found that although the majority of respondents had fair levels of knowledge and positive attitudes, they had lower rates of CSR ownership and use. Therefore, efforts at developing opportunities to expand public awareness of CSR use should be made to improve child passenger safety practices and eliminate child injury caused by traffic collisions.
Language: en |