Department of Preventive Medicine, Nicolae Testemitanu" State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Traffic Inj Prev. 2022;23(8):483-487. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2022.2106476. Epub 2022 Aug 10.
The Republic of Moldova has one of the European region's highest road traffic injury rates and also has an increase in motorization and exposure of children as vehicle passengers. This study describes child restraint use, and parents' knowledge and attitudes toward child restraint based on observations in Chisinau, the country's capital and largest city. The study aims to describe the use of child restraints and to compare data with existing standards of good practice.
An observational study on child safety restraint use was conducted in 2018. Observational sites included 22 early education institutions, where drivers (n = 611) and child passengers (n = 710) were observed. Observations were conducted as motor vehicles parked or pulled to a stop near the early education institutions and included a driver survey on knowledge and attitudes toward restraint legislation and child safety behavior.
Of the 710 child passengers observed, 462 (65.1%) were appropriately restrained, 145 (20.4%) were seated in restraints inappropriate for the child and 103 (14.5%) of children were unrestrained. Younger children (0-3 year-old) were 7 times more likely to be properly restrained compared with children with ages between 4 and 6 (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.15 to 3.22). Two-thirds out of 609 observed drivers with full study data, N = 431 (70,8%), knew about the mandatory legislation on using child safety restraints in the Republic of Moldova. The drivers using child safety restraints responded that they used them because of their safety features, and the major reason for nonuse was high price/affordability.
This study, the first to document child safety restraint use among children, indicates that much progress has been made, in that the majority of children are restrained and most drivers of children are aware of safety policies. However, progress can be made to increase knowledge and motivation to safely transport children, and to ensure safety seats are affordable and available. These data will be an important foundation on which to advocate for increased safety activities, child restraint policies, educational approaches in Moldova and to monitor progress over time.
摩尔多瓦共和国是欧洲地区道路交通伤害率最高的国家之一，其机动车保有量不断增加，儿童作为乘客乘车的情况也越来越多。本研究描述了首都基希讷乌（该国最大的城市）的儿童约束装置使用情况，以及家长对儿童约束装置的认知和态度。本研究旨在描述儿童约束装置的使用情况，并将数据与现有良好实践标准进行比较。
2018 年进行了一项关于儿童安全约束装置使用情况的观察性研究。观察点包括 22 所幼儿教育机构，在这些机构附近，观察了驾驶员（n=611 人）和儿童乘客（n=710 人）。观察在机动车停驶或减速靠近幼儿教育机构时进行，包括对驾驶员进行关于约束装置立法和儿童安全行为的知识和态度的问卷调查。
在观察到的 710 名儿童乘客中，462 名（65.1%）被正确约束，145 名（20.4%）被约束在不适合儿童的约束装置中，103 名（14.5%）儿童未被约束。与 4 至 6 岁儿童相比，年龄较小的儿童（0-3 岁）正确约束的可能性高 7 倍（OR 1.92，95%CI 1.15 至 3.22）。在 609 名驾驶员中，有 431 名（70.8%）驾驶员完成了完整的研究数据，他们中有三分之二（67.1%）知道摩尔多瓦共和国使用儿童安全约束装置的强制性立法。使用儿童安全约束装置的驾驶员表示，他们使用这些装置是因为其安全功能，而不使用的主要原因是价格高/负担不起。
本研究首次记录了儿童中使用儿童安全约束装置的情况，表明已经取得了很大进展，因为大多数儿童都被约束，大多数儿童的驾驶员都了解安全政策。然而，在提高知识水平、增强安全运输儿童的动机、确保安全座椅负担得起和可获得性方面还有待进一步努力。这些数据将成为在摩尔多瓦倡导增加安全活动、儿童约束装置政策、教育方法以及监测随着时间推移的进展的重要基础。
