Objective
To explore behavioral factors that determine whether children (aged 7 to 13 years) wear bicycle safety helmets.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Three Dutch primary schools in Breda, Maastricht, and Terneuzen, the Netherlands.
Participants
Two hundred fifty-nine children aged 7 to 13 years.
Intervention
Wearing a bicycle safety helmet for 6 consecutive weeks.
Results
Information about experiences with the bicycle safety helmet was gathered via questionnaires. Wearing a bicycle safety helmet was described as inconvenient, time-consuming, and uncomfortable. Children also perceived negative reactions from their social environment.
Conclusions
Planned health promotion activities will be essential for the introduction of bicycle safety helmets to be successful. These activities should focus particularly on developing a comfortable bicycle safety helmet, creating facilities to store bicycle safety helmets, and changing negative social norms regarding wearing a bicycle safety helmet.
(Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1995;149:174-180)
