Buckle up safely (shoalhaven): a process and impact evaluation of a pragmatic, multifaceted preschool-based pilot program to increase correct use of age-appropriate child restraints.

Conclusions: This was a pragmatic study reflecting the real-life issues of implementing a program in preschools where 57 percent of families had a low income and turnover of staff was high. Despite these issues, impact evaluation showed that the integrated educational program showed promise in increasing correct use of age-appropriate restraints. The findings from this pilot study support the use of an integrated educational program that includes access to subsidized restraints to promote best practice child restraint use among communities that include a high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in New South Wales. Future trials in similar settings should consider offering more support in centers with high turnover of staff and offering alternative methods of payment when families experience financial difficulties in purchasing the subsidized restraints. If proven in larger trials, this approach could reduce death and injuries in child passengers in this vulnerable group. PMID: 24678571 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Traffic Injury Prevention - Category: Occupational Health Authors: Tags: Traffic Inj Prev Source Type: research