Evaluation of a bicycle helmet safety program for children

Abstract

Background: Helmets have been shown to decrease the risk of brain injury; however, helmets must be worn correctly and fit well in order to be effective. The objective of this study is to determine whether kindergarten-aged children could learn and retain appropriate helmet wearing technique through an educational bicycle safety program. Methods: Retrospective analysis of scores in questionnaires administered before and after an educational intervention to kindergarten students four to six years of age. The study took place in Prince Edward Island, Canada. A Wilcoxon Sign-Rank Test was used to determine if there was a significant overall increase in knowledge; McNemar chi-square tests were used to determine if there was an increase in knowledge for individual questions. Results: There was significant improvement in pre-test to immediate post-tests scores and pre-test to delay post-test scores when the results were stratified by age, sex, bike riding status, and helmet wearing status (p<0.001 for all comparisons). In particular, correct responses for the questions regarding appropriate helmet distances from the eyes increased from 38.9% in the pre-test to above 90% in the post-tests (p<0.001). Correct responses for the question pertaining to appropriate fitting of helmet straps increased from 71.7% pre-test to above 90% in the post-tests (p<0.001). Conclusions: There was improved knowledge of appropriate helmet-wearing technique among kindergarten-aged children as a result of the educational intervention, and knowledge gains were retained for at least one month.