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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Crystal Ricketts, PhD, Krista Jones, Richard Falcone, MD, Gloria Del Castillo, and Rebeccah Brown, MD. Trauma Service, Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229, 513-636-5324, crystal.ricketts@cchmc.org

Hispanic children are more likely to be unrestrained and therefore injured in motor vehicles than non-Hispanic children. In order to reduce such disparities, it is essential to understand the cultural, educational, and economic factors affecting this community.

We conducted 6 focus groups- 3 female (n=23) and 3 male (n=19) - with parents of Hispanic children newborn to 12 years. Participants were asked to discuss issues related to child restraint use. Focus groups were led by a Spanish-speaking moderator; audio- taped and transcribed, and then analyzed using an independent and team analysis process.

The results demonstrated that although nearly all participants knew children should be restrained, there was significant variability in knowledge regarding proper restraint use. Key factors leading to misuse/nonuse of child restraints included an inability to afford them, no tradition of using them in their native country, language barriers, vehicle overcrowding, and a lack of knowledge about proper installation and use. Parenting style, laws, child behavior, and situational factors including trip length and ethanol use also emerged as important issues.

All participants felt strongly that their community would benefit from a culturally sensitive child safety restraint program. All participants attended church and nearly all (98%) were receptive to obtaining occupant safety information from a faith-based organization as well as other community resources. The development of a comprehensive culturally sensitive, non-judgmental, faith-and community-based Hispanic occupant protection program addressing the above identified economic, cultural, and language barriers is urgently needed to reduce injury disparities.

Learning Objectives: