PO18 – Safety road for children: knowledge and attitudes of parents in the use of child restraint systems

Abstract

Theme: Child protection and managing risk. BACKGROUND: Correct use of a restraint system for children (CRS) from birth is an effective form of protection. OBJECTIVES: To characterize parent's knowledge and attitudes in using CRS. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, held in a non-probabilistic sample of 112 parents of newborns, mothers mean age 30.37 years old (SD = 5.63). Parents completed a questionnaire, 24-48 hours after baby birth in Obstetrics and Neonatology services of a public hospital in Portugal. RESULTS: Mothers mostly had secondary level of education. In 54.5% CRS was part of the 'layette baby' and, of these, 72.3% had already experimented it in the car. Only 15.2% reported having had training by nursing team during pregnancy. 97.3% intended to use the CRS, however only 47.3% would do it adequately. All recognize that CRS prevents serious injury, and 67% reported adequate knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that knowledge and parental attitudes about the proper use of CRS remains insufficient. Language: en