PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Head Protective Devices”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Barriers to bicycle helmet use among children. Results of focus groups with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

As a preliminary step in the development of a school-based educational intervention to promote bicycle helmet use among children, focus group encounters were conducted with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at three elementary schools in the Boston, Mass, area. Analysis of transcripts of encounter tape recordings indicated that (1) the prevalence of helmet ownership and use was low, (2) children were concerned that helmet use would invite derision from their peers, and (3) children tended to respect other children who wore helmets. We concluded that focus groups can be useful in conceptualizing health education interventions and suggest that school-based peer-led bicycle helmet programs may be effective in developing normative change toward helmet use among elementary schoolchildren.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Attitudes toward bicycle helmet ownership and use by school-age children.

To identify attitudes toward bicycle helmet ownership and use, questionnaires were sent to parents of 2178 third-graders; 1057 (48.5%) returned valid responses. Of 931 children who had bicycles, 24% owned helmets, but only 56% of children who owned helmets wore them. Helmet ownership, but not use, was associated with higher parental education. Fifty-one percent of 704 parents of bicycle owners who had not purchased helmets said they had never thought of it, 29% thought helmets were too costly, and 20% felt their children would not wear them. Of 792 children who did not wear helmets, 25% said they did not wear them because their friends did not; 22% never thought about wearing helmets; and 16% found them uncomfortable. Efforts to increase the wearing of helmets should address helmet design, awareness, peer pressure, and cost.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1990

The Seattle children's bicycle helmet campaign.

Though bicycle head trauma is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity, much of which can be mitigated by wearing protective helmets, in 1986, few schoolchildren in the area of Seattle, Wash, were observed to wear helmets. We describe the mechanics of a multifaceted campaign undertaken to alter this situation, involving a coalition of health, bicycle, and helmet industry organizations. These were the major objectives: (1) to convince parents that riding bicycles without helmets is hazardous, (2) to lower the price of helmets to more affordable levels, and (3) to overcome the reluctance of children to wear helmets. The campaign was successful; the sales of one brand of a youth helmet in the Seattle area rose from 1500 to 22,000 over a 3-year period, and the observed helmet usage rate among school-age children increased from 5% to 16% compared with a rise of only 1% to 3% in a control community, Portland, Ore.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1990

How bicycle-related injuries change bicycling practices in children.

Bicycle crashes are a major cause of injuries in childhood. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of bicycle-related injuries on the subsequent bicycle-riding behavior and safety practices of the child and other family members. Successful telephone contact was made with the parents of 82 of 230 children (age at time of injury, 4 to 15 years; median, 9 years; 57 boys and 25 girls) admitted to the hospital with bicycle-related injuries from 1983 to 1986. Parents were interviewed by telephone 4 months to 6 years after injury (median, 1 year 9 months). Head injuries predominated (64.6%). Almost all children continued to ride a bicycle after hospitalization (80 [97.6%] ). Few wore a bicycle helmet either before (6 [7.3%] ) or at the time of injury (3 [3.7%] ). More began wearing helmets after hospital discharge (20 [24.4%] ), but three fourths of the children still rode their bicycles without protective head wear. Helmet wearing also increased among bicycle-riding siblings after the index hospitalization (3 [7.0%] of 43 vs 7 [16.3%] ) but the difference was not significant. Parents commonly imposed restrictions on bicycle riding before hospitalization (78.0%) and after hospital discharge (82.9%). Twenty-six families (31.7%) reported more stringent rules after injury. Only 17 children (20.7%) participated in formal bicycle safety programs before the injury; only 5 (6.1%) more went through such a program after hospital discharge. Alone, an injury seems to have limited effect on the adoption of safe bicycling practices among children. The hospitalization of injured children provides opportunities for safety education to foster safe bicycling and to prevent injuries of all causes.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1992

Helmets! All the pros wear them.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcome of a multidisciplinary community campaign to increase helmet use and determine the success of a school education and helmet distribution program. DESIGN: Survey research. SETTING: Large metropolitan area and two elementary schools. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred representative families in a metropolitan area and students enrolled in two elementary schools. INTERVENTIONS: A 1-year-long regional media campaign and a helmet distribution program in one elementary school after 4 weeks of safety instruction. RESULTS: Evaluation of the community component 1 year after initiation of the campaign revealed a 23% awareness of the promotion. Factors associated with wearing a helmet in the community included higher income levels, higher level of education, and male sex. The school component survey revealed that 73% of the children in school A reported helmet use vs 23% in school B. This multifaceted approach to affect helmet use demonstrated variable success in our community. CONCLUSION: This campaign effort achieved its greatest success in promoting community awareness of the importance of helmet use. However, further studies need to be performed to determine the success of the school education and helmet distribution program.

Bicycling↗
PubMed1994

Association between bicycle helmet legislation, bicycle safety education, and use of bicycle helmets in children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between bicycle helmet legislation and bicycle safety education and the use of bicycle helmets by children under age 16 years. DESIGN: Anonymous questionnaire and direct observations of bicycle helmet use. SETTING: Four predominantly white, upper-middle class suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. PARTICIPANTS: All students in grades 1 through 7 attending public school on the day of the survey and children riding bicycles in a direct observational study. INTERVENTIONS: Beachwood had bicycle helmet legislation and safety education. Orange had only bicycle helmet legislation. Pepper Pike and Moreland Hills did not have bicycle helmet legislation or safety education. RESULTS: In Beachwood, 416 (67.6%) of 615 children who owned a bicycle reported always wearing their helmets, and 72 (85%) of 85 children directly observed were wearing bicycle helmets. In Orange, 103 (37.2%) of 277 children who owned bicycles reported always wearing helmets, whereas 41 (17.9%) of 229 children in Moreland Hills and 78 (21.5%) of 362 children in Pepper Pike reported always wearing helmets. Helmet use was significantly (P < .001) higher in Beachwood, with legislation and education, than in the other communities; helmet use was significantly (P < .001) higher in Orange, with legislation alone, than in Moreland Hills and Pepper Pike, with no programs. CONCLUSIONS: There was a dramatic association between reports of increased helmet use and bicycle helmet legislation plus education; the association was stronger than that found with legislation only.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Barriers to wearing bicycle safety helmets in The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: To explore behavioral factors that determine whether children (aged 7 to 13 years) wear bicycle safety helmets. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Three Dutch primary schools in Breda, Maastricht, and Terneuzen, the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred fifty-nine children aged 7 to 13 years. INTERVENTION: Wearing a bicycle safety helmet for 6 consecutive weeks. RESULTS: Information about experiences with the bicycle safety helmet was gathered via questionnaires. Wearing a bicycle safety helmet was described as inconvenient, time-consuming, and uncomfortable. Children also perceived negative reactions from their social environment. CONCLUSIONS: Planned health promotion activities will be essential for the introduction of bicycle safety helmets to be successful. These activities should focus particularly on developing a comfortable bicycle safety helmet, creating facilities to store bicycle safety helmets, and changing negative social norms regarding wearing a bicycle safety helmet.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Effect of a state law on reported bicycle helmet ownership and use.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a state law on reported bicycle helmet ownership and use. DESIGN: Multistage cluster random-digit-dialing telephone survey. SETTING: Georgia, June through November 1993. PARTICIPANTS: Adults who reported the behavior of bicyclists 4 through 15 years old. INTERVENTION: State law mandating helmet use after July 1, 1993, for all bicyclists aged younger than 16 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Bicycle helmet ownership and use. RESULTS: Reported helmet ownership increased from 39% before the law took effect to 57% afterward (+ 46%, P = .06). Reported use increased from 33% before to 52% afterward (+ 58%, P < .05). About 7% of riders changed from "never-wearing" to "always-wearing" behavior. After the law took effect, in those households in which the law was known, 69% of riders owned and 64% used a helmet. By comparison, in those households in which the law was not known, only 30% owned and 25% used a helmet (P < .01). Reported ownership and use were 93% concordant, inversely related to rider age, and directly related to household income. Multivariable analysis indicated that race was an effect modifier of reported helmet ownership and use. In black riders, knowledge of the law appeared to be highly associated with both reported helmet ownership and use but was not significant in white riders. In white riders, though age and income were significantly associated with reported helmet ownership and use. CONCLUSIONS: This law appeared important in increasing reported helmet ownership and use, particularly in black riders. Since knowledge of the law was associated with increased ownership and use, additional publicity about the law might further increase helmet use. Because most riders who owned helmets used them, give-away programs targeting areas of low ownership may also increase use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Children's bicycle helmet attitudes and use. Association with parental rules. The Pediatric Practice Research Group.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have assessed the attitudes of parents and children toward bicycle helmet ownership and use in various settings, but they have not addressed the role of parental rules in promoting bicycle helmet use by children. OBJECTIVES: To further explore the attitudes of parents and children at pediatric practices toward bicycle helmet ownership and use by children and to assess the role of parental rules in promoting bicycle helmet use by children. DESIGN: One hundred sixty-nine 5- to 14-year-old children who owned bicycles and their parents were surveyed during well-child visits at 5 general pediatric practices in the Chicago, Ill, area. One hundred twenty-nine families were represented. Of the children, 60% were aged 5 to 9 years, and 50% were girls. RESULTS: Forty-eight children (28%) reported helmet ownership. Of the helmet owners, 21 (45%) reported helmet use; thus, the overall percentage of helmet use was 12%. Helmet ownership by children was significantly (P < .05) related to parental characteristics: educational level, race, perceived effectiveness of bicycle helmets, seat belt use, and parental helmet ownership. The most common reasons parents gave for lack of helmet ownership by children were "never thought about purchasing" a helmet (35%), "never got around to purchasing" a helmet (29%), "child wouldn't wear it anyway" (26%), and the bicycle helmet was "too expensive" (16%). Only 33% of the parents reported hearing about helmets from their children's pediatrician, but 40% of these parents regarded pediatricians as their most important information source. Of the children who did not own helmets, 64% said they would wear a bicycle helmet if they had one, a more frequent comment for 5- to 9-year-old children than 10- to 14-year-old children (76% vs 49%, P < .01). The most common reasons for not wearing a helmet among owners were as follows: forgot or lost it and not needed. The most common reasons for not wearing a helmet among nonowners were as follows: uncomfortable and appearance or perception of others. Children who owned helmets and whose parents had a strict rule about wearing helmets were more likely to always wear their helmets than helmet owners whose parents had a partial rule or no rule (88% vs 19%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Parental rules are associated with bicycle helmet use by children. Pediatricians may increase helmet use rates by promoting strict parental helmet rules as part of their anticipatory guidance regarding bicycle safety. More research about the effectiveness of this strategy is needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Effect of education and legislation on bicycle helmet use in a multiracial population.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of new legislation and a boroughwide bicycle helmet educational campaign on bicycle helmet use in a multiracial population. DESIGN: A prospective observational study. Observations were made at randomly selected sites in Queens (study group) and Brooklyn (control group), NY, in May 1994, before a New York State law affecting both boroughs was enacted and before a bicycle helmet educational campaign was conducted in Queens. Variables observed included age, sex, race, and whether the child was wearing a bicycle helmet while riding. A bicycle helmet campaign was conducted in late May 1994. New York State bicycle helmet law was effected on June 1, 1994, requiring all children aged 1 to 14 years to wear helmets while riding their bicycles. Follow-up observations were made at the same sites in July or August 1994. SETTING: Queens County, New York, which is the most racially diverse county in the United States, according to 1990 census data. PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional observations of children aged 1 to 14 years made at randomly selected sites. INTERVENTIONS: A boroughwide bicycle helmet educational campaign conducted in May 1994 in Queens. RESULTS: The overall use of helmets increased from 4.7% (13/276) to 13.9% (44/316) (P < .001) in the study group. Helmet use decreased from 5.6% (19/342) to 4.2% (13/312) (P = .10) in the control group during the same period. CONCLUSIONS: In a multiracial population, a statistically significant (P < .001) increase of helmet use was demonstrated after a campaign and distribution of educational material. Legislation alone is inadequate for ensuring increased bicycle helmet use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Evaluation of a statewide bicycle helmet law via multiple measures of helmet use.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate an Oregon law requiring bicyclists younger than 16 year to wear a helmet and to compare methods of measuring helmet use. DESIGN: Four prelaw and postlaw statewide helmet use surveys: (1) statewide observations, (2) middle school observations, (3) classroom self-report surveys, and (4) a statewide adult telephone survey. SETTING: Oregon. SUBJECTS: Statewide observations, 3313 child bicyclists at 13 sites; middle school observations, 995 child bicyclists at 33 randomly selected middle schools; classroom self-report surveys, fourth, sixth, and eighth graders in 448 classrooms (ie, 8955 students) before the law was effected and 456 classrooms (ie, 9811 students) after the law was effected in 66 randomly selected schools; and statewide telephone survey, 1219 randomly called parents of 1437 children younger than 16 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prelaw and postlaw helmet use and ownership and knowledge and opinion about the law. RESULTS: Observed helmet use among youth was 24.5% before the law was effected and 49.3% after the law was effected. School-observed use increased from 20.4% to 56.1%. Classroom survey self-reported "always" use of helmets increased from 14.7% to 39.4%; reported use on the day of the survey increased from 25.8% to 76.0%. Telephone survey-reported "always" helmet use increased from 36.8% to 65.7%. Younger children and girls were more likely to use helmets. Most students (ie, 87.8%) and parents (ie, 95.4%) knew about the law; however, only 42.6% of children thought the law was a good idea. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that (1) the law increased helmet use; (2) although use estimates differ, all helmet surveys showed similar degrees of prelaw and postlaw change; and (3) half of child bicyclists are still not wearing helmets, indicating a need for additional promotion of helmet wearing. Laws seem to be an effective way to increase helmet use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Motorcycle helmet-use laws and head injury prevention.

OBJECTIVE: To rebut criticism of a previous study of motorcycle helmet-use laws through reanalysis with improved measures of exposure, stratification for regional differences in crash risk, and addressing of total motorcycle-related mortality and the grounds for targeting motorcyclists for helmet-use laws. DESIGN: Death certificate-based correlational study of motorcycle-related deaths and motorcycle helmet-use laws. POPULATION STUDIED: United States resident deaths from 1979 through 1986. RESULTS: Regardless of the denominator used (resident population, motorcycle registrations, or motorcycle crashes), states with full helmet-use laws had consistently lower head injury-associated death rates than states without such laws, even when stratified by region. Total motorcycle-related mortality, however, was similar between law groups. On a registration or crash basis, motorcyclists who died in crashes had a fivefold to sixfold higher risk of head injury than those who died using any other type of motor vehicle. CONCLUSION: Full helmet-use laws were consistently associated with lower rates of head injury-associated death. While disagreement remains on the acceptability of the legislative approach, the scientific basis for motorcycle helmet-use laws as a head injury prevention tool appears sound.

Accidents, Traffic↗