Evaluating the educational component of a hospital-based child passenger safety program

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• Health Education

Background:

• Child safety seat programs improve parental knowledge and practices.
• Hospital-based programs often include educational components and discounted seats.
• Evaluating programs for diverse populations, including Hispanic communities, is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate knowledge retention and safety practices after a bilingual child safety seat education program.
• To identify parental motivators and barriers for correct safety seat use.
• To assess a program with individualized and group education, plus a seat giveaway for a specific demographic.

Main Methods:

• A 15-minute telephone survey in English or Spanish with 79 past participants.
• Descriptive statistics and odds ratios were used for significance testing.
• Qualitative data from open-ended questions were coded categorically.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease in knowledge about safety seat transitions and state law occurred by six months post-program (ORs 0.35 and 0.16).
• The sample was predominantly female (93.7%), Hispanic (78.5%), and foreign-born (77.2%).
• Primary motivators were safety and fear of police; barriers included not understanding importance and being in a rush.

Conclusions:

• Parental knowledge of child passenger safety decreased significantly at six months or later post-program.
• Multiple barriers to correct safety seat use were identified by parents.
• Future interventions should consider knowledge refreshers and addressing specific parental motivators and barriers.