The approach of mothers towards children’s safety in cars in Sakaraya, Turkey - doi:10.5020/18061230.2006.p40

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess protective behaviour of families with children between the age of 0-16 years concerning safety measures for vehicle transport. Inclusion criteria for this cross-sectional, descriptive study were: having child/children between the age of 0-16 years, sharing the same domicile with them and giving informed consent to participate in the study. Beyond the maternal attitudes facing their children’s safety, there were studied the variables related to the mothers’ educational level, the number of children, the loss of children due to automobile accidents or illnesses. For the maternal attitudes analyses, The Paediatric Preventive Behaviour Survey was applied using a 10 points response Likert Scale. The study group (n=248) was randomly selected among mothers fulfilling the above criteria. Data were collected during one year between February 2003 and 2004. The results of the study revealed that, the higher the educational level of the mother, the more important she considered safety measures for children in vehicles. Nevertheless, attitudes and behaviour concerning vital protective measures to prevent children from major harm inside vehicles were not at a satisfactory level. It is obvious that there is a need for education in order to raise the consciousness of the public and families with children concerning safe behaviour in traffic to reduce/prevent inappropriate careless behaviour leading to injury, disablement and death of children during traffic accidents.