This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Age-appropriate use of car seats varies among races, linked to information sources
White parents were more likely to use age-appropriate child safety seats than nonwhite parents, according to study findings in Pediatrics.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted at two sites between October 2011 and May 2012. Parents of children aged 1 to 12 years provided self-report of child passenger safety practices, demographics and information sources. Of the 744 eligible participants, 601 provided complete answers. Participants considered nonwhite included 26.8% non-Hispanic blacks, 4.8% Hispanics and 5.3% non-Hispanic of other races; 63.1% of participants were non-Hispanic white.
Researchers found white parents reported higher use of car seats for children aged 1 to 3 years and booster seats for children aged 4 to 7 years than nonwhite parents. Regardless of race, less than 30% of children aged 8 to 12 years used a booster seat.
Parental education, family income, parental seat belt use and information sources correlated with use of age-appropriate child safety seats. Parents who reported receiving child passenger safety information from a doctor or nurse were more likely to use age-appropriate car seats. However, only about 25% of participants reported receiving information from a clinician.
“Racial disparities in age-appropriate restrain use are complex and were not fully or partially explained by socioeconomic variables or child passenger safety information sources. Other factors including social norms, motivations for, and barriers to age-appropriate restraint use require further study. Clinicians caring for children have the potential to influence child passenger safety practices, and efforts should be directed at eliminating disparities through culturally appropriate interventions,” study researcher Michelle L. Macy, MD, of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, and colleagues concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
