Parents' knowledge about and use of child safety systems.

Road crashes are the leading cause of death and injury in children under 14 years of age in Canada, despite mandatory use of vehicle restraints. A survey design was used to examine parental knowledge and perceptions of the use of safety systems for children in 2 communities in the province of Ontario. Parents of children aged newborn to 9 years were recruited from 3 urban/rural school boards and from daycare centres and hospitals. A total of 1,263 parents reported on 2,199 children's use of safety systems. Data analysis revealed that only 68% of children used correct seats for their weight and that as the child advanced in age the rate of misuse increased significantly due to high rates of premature transitioning into safety seats inappropriate for the child's height and weight. The results also revealed that parents had limited knowledge concerning the correct use of safety seats and frequently used non-professional sources of information for vehicle safety information. The authors recommend that nurses develop a comprehensive and systematic strategy to ensure that families understand how to secure children in vehicles using the correct safety seat for the child's height, weight, and age.