Bicycle helmet use to reduce the impact of head injuries in ladder users

2016 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 1026-1029
Author(s):  
Leigh R. Warren ◽  
Simon Harley ◽  
Jeffrey Dutschke ◽  
Andrew van den Berg ◽  
Christopher Dobbins
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Aurélie Maurice ◽  
Michel Lavoie ◽  
Denis Hamel ◽  
Mylène Riva

Introduction Bicycle helmet use is recognized as an effective way to prevent head injuries in cyclists. A number of countries have introduced legislation to make helmets mandatory, but many object to this type of measure for fear that it could discourage people, particularly teenagers, from cycling. In 2011, the City of Sherbrooke adopted a bylaw requiring minors to wear a bicycle helmet. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of this bylaw on cycling and bicycle helmet use. Methods The impact of the bylaw was measured by comparing the evolution of bicycle helmet use among youth aged 12 to 17 years in the Sherbrooke area (n = 248) and in three control regions (n = 767), through the use of logistic regression analyses. Results Cycling rates remained stable in the Sherbrooke area (going from 49.9% to 53.8%) but decreased in the control regions (going from 59.1% to 46.3%). This difference in evolution shows that cycling rates increased in the Sherbrooke area after the adoption of the bylaw, compared to the control regions (odds ratio [OR] of the interaction term: 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–5.35). With respect to helmet use, a non–statistically significant upward trend was observed in the Sherbrooke area (going from 43.5% to 60.6%). This figure remained stable in the control regions (going from 41.5% to 41.9%). No significant difference was observed in the evolution of helmet use between the two groups (OR of the interaction term of 2.70; 95% CI: 0.67–10.83). Conclusion After the bylaw was adopted, bicycle use among youth aged 12 to 17 years in the Sherbrooke area remained stable and helmet used increased, though not significantly.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 902-907
Author(s):  
Robert S. Thompson ◽  
Diane C. Thompson ◽  
Frederick P. Rivara ◽  
Angela A. Salazar

Objective. To examine the potential effects of bicycle safety helmet cost subsidy on bicycle head injury rates and costs. Design. Using empiric data on the incidence and costs of bicycle injuries to children, we examined the hypothetical effects of various bicycle helmet subsidies in a cost-effectiveness analysis. A hypothetical cohort of 100 000 5- through 9-year-olds was followed for 5 years after helmet cost subsidization. Sensitivity analyses were done of three different levels of safety helmet subsidy ($5, $10, $15), three discount rates (2%, 4%, 6%), 10 levels of safety helmet use ranging from 10% to 100%, and the occurrence or nonoccurrence of catastrophic head injuries. Patients. Forty-three children 5 through 9 years of age and 27 children 10 through 14 years of age with head injuries due to bicycling were identified through emergency department surveillance of a population of 29 533. Setting. Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, a large health maintenance organization. Outcome measures. Bicycle head injuries prevented and the savings or costs associated with various subsidy, safety helmet use, and discount rates. Results. Hypothetically, an increase in bicycle helmet use rates to 40% to 50% due to subsidies of $5 or $10 prevents 564 to 840 head injuries in a cohort of 100 000 5- through 9-year-olds over 5 years. Under these conditions and a 2% discount rate, cost savings ranging from $189 207 to $427 808 will result when catastrophic head injuries are included in the analysis. Conclusion. Subsidization of bicycle safety helmets to achieve a cost of $14 to $20 per helmet and use rates of 40% to 50% will likely prove cost-effective. Empirical evidence from a Seattle campaign suggests that such helmet use rates are achievable.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 772-777
Author(s):  
Patricia C. Parkin ◽  
Laura J. Spence ◽  
Xiaohan Hu ◽  
Katherine E. Kranz ◽  
Linda G. Shortt ◽  
...  

Bicycle-related head injuries are an important cause of death and disability, despite the availability of helmets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based bicycle helmet promotion program in increasing helmet use by children while controlling for secular trends. Two high-income and two low-income schools in an urban Canadian community were selected to receive a bicycle helmet promotion intervention, with the remaining 18 schools serving as controls. Approximately 1800 observations of bicycling children were made at randomly selected observational sites 2 to 5 months after the intervention to assess changes in behavior. Helmet use at all observation sites tripled from 3.4% (1990, preintervention) to 16% (1991, postintervention). In the high-income intervention area, observed helmet use rose dramatically from 4% to 36% in contrast to the more modest increase in the high-income control area from 4% to 15%. In the low-income intervention area, there was a modest increase from 1% to 7%, but it did not differ from the increase in the low-income control area from 3% to 13%. The program was highly successful in children of high-income families but not in children of low-income families. Developing strategies for low-income families remains a priority.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-488
Author(s):  
ALLEN R. CIASTKO

To the Editor.— Dr Weiss in his study of bicycle helmet use in Pediatrics (1986;77:677-679) makes a plea to pediatricians and family physicians to advocate bicycle helmet use based on the frequency and severity of head injuries reported in other studies of bicycle accidents. Unfortunately, most studies quoted either reviewed bicycle injuries in isolation from other types of injury or were national death report statistics which represent only the tip of the iceberg (ignoring relative morbidity statistics).


CJEM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (04) ◽  
pp. 277-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Sullivan ◽  
Daniel Fuller ◽  
Quinten S. Paterson ◽  
Shelby Huffman ◽  
Satyadeva Challa ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a novel injury prevention intervention designed to prompt patients to initiate an injury prevention discussion with the ED physician, thus enabling injury prevention counselling and increasing bicycle helmet use among patients. Methods A repeated measures 2 x 3 randomized controlled trial design was used. Fourteen emergency physicians were observed for two shifts each between June and August 2013. Each pair of shifts was randomized to either an injury prevention shift, during which the emergency physician would wear a customized scrub top, or a control shift. The outcomes of interest were physician time spent discussing injury prevention, current helmet use, and self-reported change in helmet use rates at one year. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the impact of the intervention. Results The average time spent on injury prevention for all patients was 3.3 seconds. For those patients who actually received counselling, the average time spent was 17.0 seconds. The scrub top intervention did not significantly change helmet use rates at one year. The intervention also had no significant impact on patient decisions to change or reinforcement of helmet use. Conclusions Our study showed that the intervention did not increase physician injury prevention counselling or self-reported bicycle helmet use rates among patients. Given the study limitations, replication and extension of the intervention is warranted.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 1248-1250
Author(s):  
Peter C. Scheidt ◽  
Modena H. Wilson ◽  
Melvin S. Stern

In 1990, the first regulation requiring the use of helmets for bicyclists younger than 16 years of age was passed in Howard County, Maryland. This unexpected injury control measure resulted from the convergence of multiple factors and efforts: the bicycle-related deaths of two children from the same middle school, creative students and teachers motivated by these deaths, a responsive legislator to introduce the legislation, available surveillance and research statistics supporting the need and efficacy for helmet use, increased national awareness of the importance of helmet use to prevent bicycle-related head injuries, and organized national and local public health groups to support the legislation. This case study of activism in injury control illustrates the importance of supporting research, of well-organized public health coalitions and groups, and of creative community activists motivated by local circumstances.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Chin-Shyan Chen ◽  
Tsai-Ching Liu

The objective of this study was to examine whether the implementation of the helmet law had reduced the likelihood of head injury and the associated medical cost in Taiwan. Data were taken from the 1996 and 1998 population-based data. In total, 888,179 and 921,058 effective samples were used in the study from the two years. Two different types of regression model were adopted to evaluate the impact of the motorcycle helmet use law on incidences of head injury and associated medical cost and hospital length of stay. The results reveal that medical cost is down by 11.5 percent and hospital LOS has fallen by 18.58 percent. Thus, with the introduction of the motorcycle helmet use law having had a demonstrably positive influence on motorcycle head injuries and fatalities, significant savings are clearly being achieved, not only in terms of economic and social costs, but also with regard to medical cost.


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