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Child safety restraint usage in Romania - an observational study design
Abstract   Open access   Peer reviewed

Child safety restraint usage in Romania - an observational study design

D Rus, F Jurchis, E Baragan, R Chereches, C Peek-Asa and F Mocean
European journal of public health, Vol.25(suppl_3)
10/2015
DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckv172.095
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckv172.095View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Background Romania presently has limited policies and capacity to prevent child and adolescent injuries but also little data to document the consequences of not using appropriate child passenger restraint. Our aim was to document child safety restraint use and identify factors associated with proper child restraint in a motor vehicle. Methods An observational study on child safety restraint was conducted in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between 2013 and 2014. Observational sites included 38 schools and kindergartens and 3 commercial areas, where drivers (n = 768) and child passengers (n = 892) were observed. Also, drivers were asked about their child safety restraint use, knowledge and attitudes towards restraint legislation and safety behavior (69.4%). Multivariate logistic regression was run to evaluate the correct use of child safety restraint. Results The majority of observed child passengers were in some type of restraint (n = 601; 67.4%). One third of the children (n = 305, 34.2%) were restrained in a child safety seat, almost 10% (n = 87) of children were restrained in a booster seat and 23.4% (n = 209) children wore a seatbelt. Of the total children seating in a car seat, only 14.8% (n = 45) were seating in a rear-facing position. Driver seatbelt use (OR = 3.84, 95%CI: 2.10-7.05) was associated with increased use of child safety restraint while children older than five (OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.13-0.34) and the driver’s lower education status (OR = 0.55, 95%CI: 0.34-0.91) had reduced odds of children being properly fitted in a safety restraint. Conclusions Over a third of children observed were not wearing any type of occupant restraint. The study identifies areas of traffic safety legislation that requires improvement, like regulations on how to use booster seats or how to upgrade from one restraint to another which are missing from the Romanian Traffic Code. Data also brings evidence on the need to increase parents’ education and raising awareness on how to properly restrain children in cars.

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