ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge levels and attitudes of Northern Cypriot parents about child passenger safety and to determine the need for parental education regarding this issue.

This was a planned cross-sectional study. The questionnaire comprised two parts. The first part included five multiple-choice questions, which were used to evaluate the level of knowledge regarding child passenger safety according to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The second part was designed as a five-point Likert scale and included questions regarding the behavior and attitude of parents toward child passenger safety.

A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed and 377 participants responded, with a response rate of 75.4%. The mean±standard deviation score from the multiple-choice questions regarding knowledge about child passenger safety was 2.83±1.11. Only 17.4% of the parents with children aged 0-2 years knew that children should be placed in a rear-facing car seat at that age, 80% of parents of the children in the 2-6 years age group knew that the child should be placed in a forward-facing seat at that age, while only 39.3% of parents of children in the 6-12 years age group were aware that the child should be placed in a belt-positioning booster seat.

This study emphasized on the less knowledge and incorrect attitudes of parents about child restraint seat (CRS) in Northern Cyprus compared to those in the developed countries. The result highlights the urgent need for social and governmental programs about CRS in our country.