Department of Emergency Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
Singapore Med J. 2020 Feb;61(2):102-107. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2019023. Epub 2019 Feb 18.
Road traffic injuries and fatalities represent a significant public health problem. In Singapore, compliance with appropriate child car restraints (CCRs) is poor. We aimed to understand parental knowledge, beliefs and barriers regarding the use of CCRs.
In this qualitative study, we conducted five focus group discussions with parents who drive with their children in private cars. Participants were recruited using the KK Women's and Children's Hospital's social media page. Guiding questions were derived by consensus following literature review and adaptation to the Singapore context, exploring parental perceptions of CCR use. Focus group interviews were then transcribed and analysed.
33 participants were recruited, with an age range of 28‒46 (mean age 35.5) years. They had a total of 46 children with ages ranging from 2.5 months to 14 years (mean age 4.2 years). Three key themes were identified: parental knowledge regarding CCRs, barriers to CCR use, and suggestions to increase CCR compliance. Barriers to compliance included lack of knowledge, difficult child behaviour and cultural norms. A multipronged approach was proposed to increase CCR use, including educating the public, reinforcing positive behaviour, legal enforcement as a deterrent to non-compliance, increasing CCR installation services, providing CCRs for taxi users and offering financial incentives.
Non-compliance to CCR use is multidimensional, including multiple potentially modifiable factors. This study could inform ongoing collaborative injury prevention efforts among healthcare professionals, industry partners and the traffic police, using public education and outreach to reduce the burden of road traffic injuries.
道路交通伤害和死亡是一个重大的公共卫生问题。在新加坡，儿童汽车安全座椅（CRS）的使用合规率很低。我们旨在了解父母对使用 CRS 的知识、信念和障碍。
在这项定性研究中，我们与在私人汽车中载有孩子的父母进行了五次焦点小组讨论。参与者是通过 KK 妇女儿童医院的社交媒体页面招募的。通过文献回顾和改编以适应新加坡的背景，得出了指导问题，以探讨父母对 CRS 使用的看法。然后对焦点小组访谈进行了转录和分析。
共招募了 33 名参与者，年龄范围为 28-46 岁（平均年龄 35.5 岁）。他们共有 46 个孩子，年龄从 2.5 个月到 14 岁不等（平均年龄 4.2 岁）。确定了三个关键主题：父母对 CRS 的了解、使用 CRS 的障碍以及增加 CRS 合规性的建议。合规障碍包括缺乏知识、孩子行为困难和文化规范。提出了一种多管齐下的方法来增加 CRS 的使用，包括教育公众、强化积极行为、作为不遵守的威慑手段的法律执行、增加 CRS 安装服务、为出租车用户提供 CRS 并提供经济激励。
CRS 使用的不合规是多方面的，包括多个潜在的可改变的因素。本研究可以为医疗保健专业人员、行业合作伙伴和交通警察之间正在进行的合作伤害预防工作提供信息，通过公众教育和外联活动，减少道路交通伤害的负担。
