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The Seattle children's bicycle helmet campaign: changes in helmet use and head injury admissions
F P Rivara1, D C Thompson, R S Thompson
1Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, Seattle, WA 98104.
Objective:
To describe the impact of a community bicycle helmet campaign on helmet use and the incidence of bicycle-related head injuries.
Setting:
Metropolitan community and a large health maintenance organization.
Interventions:
Communitywide bicycle helmet campaign.
Outcomes:
Rate of observed bicycle helmet use in the community and incidence of bicycle-related injuries in an health maintenance organization population.
Results:
Helmet use among school-aged children increased from 5.5% in 1987 to 40.2% in 1992. Bicycle-related head injuries decreased by 66.6% in 5- to 9-year-old and 67.6% in 10- to 14-year-old members of an health maintenance organization.
Conclusions:
Educational campaigns can increase helmet use and decrease the incidence of bicycle-related head injury.