The objective of this study was to describe the impact of a community bicycle helmet campaign on helmet use and the incidence of bicycle-related head injuries. The setting was a metropolitan community and a large health maintenance organisation. Outcomes are rate of observed bicycle helmet use in the community and incidence of bicycle-related injuries in an health maintenance organisation population. Helmet use among school- aged children increased from 5.5% in 1987 to 40.2% in 1992. Bicycle-related head injuries decreased by 66.6% in 5- to 9-year-old and 67.6% in 10- to 14-year-old members of an health maintenance organisation. It is concluded that educational campaigns can increase helmet use and decrease the incidence of bicycle-related head injury. (A)
Samenvatting