Assessment of mother’s knowledge on importance and need for Child Car Safety Seat in UAE

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate maternal awareness and perception on child car safety seat usage in Latifa Women and Children Hospital (LWCH), Dubai, UAE and determine the factors contributing to it. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical survey using self-administered questionnaire was performed in two post-natal wards of Latifa Hospital for Women and Children in Dubai. A total of 201 mothers were included in the study. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were performed to find an association of child restraint use with various factors. Results: Mothers with higher education (93.4%) and non-UAE origins (93.9%) were more aware of the child car safety seat use. Although all of them knew that child restraint is safe (100%) and will use it in future (100%), they all didn’t perceive and behave similarly. A considerable portion (31.3%, n=63) opined that holding the newborn in arms is safer (p<0.001), about 18% considered seat belts restraining not necessary for children (p<0.001), 54.2% didn’t have child safety seat while leaving hospital with newborn and 34.5% reasoned absence of law enforcing safety seat for it (p<0.001). Despite the fact that all the factors were significantly associated with the use of child safety seat use, in logistic regression analysis mothers with education below university level, having only one child and holding a view against the law necessitating the use of safety seat were the significant predictors of less use of child car safety seats. Conclusion: Intensive measures combining educational campaigns focusing on mother with lower level of education (i.e. high school, secondary school) and females expecting their first child, amendments in car seat laws, free car seat distribution and teaching importance of child restraints to parents going to have first child by the hospitals, and mandatory country law enforcing usage of child restraints while driving is needed to improve the awareness and use of child restraints in UAE.