In this scientific poster presentation, it is explained that children from low-income families are at potential risk for future airbag related injuries. Therefore, a prospective cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine the level of child safety seat (CSS) and airbag safety knowledge among low-income parents who utilise emergency care services, and to determine the factors associated with safe transportation of their children. This study was conducted in a 42,000 visit per year Level I Trauma centre Emergency Department (ED) between May and October 2000. Enrolled subjects were parents of children aged 6 years or less (reference child) seeking emergency care services. Six hundred and fifty five parents were enrolled of which 60% were Hispanic and 25% were non-Hispanic White. The large majority of parents (97%) reported a regular source of paediatric medical care, yet 57% had a previous ED visit. It is concluded that a substantial proportion of parents could not identify the proper restraint for a child weighing 40-60 lbs., safety issues with airbags and the safest location for a child 0-12 years to travel in a car. Additionally, many parents were not familiar with the State law (California) requiring CSS use for children up to 4 years and 40 lbs. The data also suggests that non-English media and materials may be important to reaching parents that utilise emergency care services and are less fluent in English.
Samenvatting