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Abstract #162190

Marjorie A. Getz, MA, MPHIL¹, Richard Griggs¹, John Hafner, MD, MPH², and Richard Pearl, MD³. (1) Department of Psychology, Bradley University, 1501 W. Bradley Avenue, Peoria, IL 61625, 309 677 2587, mgetz@bradley.edu, (2) Department of Emergency Medicine, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, 530 N.E. Glen Oak, Peoria, IL 61637, (3) Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine at Peoria, 201 Hillcrest Plaza, Peoria, IL 61603

Motor vehicle occupant injury is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 4-14. Proper use of car safety seats can reduce these traffic fatalities by 80%. This study examines characteristics associated with proper installation and use of child safety seats (CSS). This research used secondary SPSS data analyses of a large (37,880 records) database containing individual profiles collected by the National Safe Kids Campaign during child restraint inspection events in 2001-2002. Over 150 variables were collected with 100 of these related to type of restraint system, installation and misuse. Additional composite variables, created for this study, provided more details on characteristics of persons/vehicles related to correct CSS installation. Only 12.7% of CSS inspected for correct usage had been properly installed. Inappropriate use of type of CSS based on child size was the most common misuse (up to 49% depending on type of CSS). CSSs were more likely to be installed correctly in vehicles manufactured by companies that emphasize vehicle safety (e.g., Volvo, 15.8%) and in newer vehicles (14.0%). Parents were more likely to have installed the safety seat correctly compared to persons identified as grandparents in their relationship to the child (p<.000). Kolcraft and Britax models of CSS had more correct usage (20.8% and 15.3%, respectively). Urban locations had a lower percent of correct use compared to non-urban (9.6% vs. 11.1%). This study highlights the utility of secondary data analyses of existing databases as tools to better understand causes of injury and to promote injury prevention.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session participants will
• better understand the usefulness of secondary analyses of existing databases to further knowledge about the epidemiology of childhood injuries, and
• be able to describe the types of errors made in installation and use of child safety seats

Keywords: Injury, Epidemiology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.