The Effectiveness of a Multimedia Intervention on Parents’ Knowledge and Use of Vehicle Safety Systems for Children

Snowdon, Anne W.; Hussein, Abdul; High, Lisa; Stamler, Lynnette; Millar-Polgar, Jan; Patrick, Linda; Ahmed, Ejaz

doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2007.08.020

« Previous Next »Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Volume 23, Issue 2 , Pages 126-139, April 2008

The Effectiveness of a Multimedia Intervention on Parents’ Knowledge and Use of Vehicle Safety Systems for Children

Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

Faculty of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Services, University of Western, Ontario, Canada

Faculty of Nursing, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Trauma due to road crashes is the leading cause of death and injury in Canadian children younger than 14 years, despite mandatory use of vehicle restraints since 1977. A multisite intervention study using a pretest–posttest design was conducted in four Ontario cities to test the effectiveness of an educational program on parents' knowledge of safety system use for children (0–12 years) 6 weeks following the educational intervention. The sample consisted of 418 families who reported on 732 children. Results indicated that knowledge increased significantly following the intervention. Use of professional sources of information was an important factor that is linked with increased parents' knowledge.