Objective: To evaluate the use before and after intervention of Child Restraint Devices (CRD's) and seat belts of children and drivers of families who had been seen in a children's hospital clinic setting. A pediatric resident sponsored Car Seat/Seat Belt Display booth in the outpatient clinic setting was the intervention.
Design: A lay volunteer randomly selected families and administered a verbal formal survey regarding CRD and safety belt use in the children and adults. Over one month, a Pediatric Resident Display Booth was located at the cashier, and included multiple posters promoting CRD use and example devices. Residents trained in CRD use asked passing families to fill out a questionnaire which was “graded” and a prize was the incentive for participation. The residents then gave the correct answers to the quiz, answered questions, and directed the parents to a distribution site for the CRD's if the parents needed one. Observers, blinded to the answers of the survey, were located in the parking deck where they observed the parents' actual behavior. The observed behavior was later compared to actual behavior. A base line percentage of CRD and seat belt use was obtained before the resident intervention, and it was compared to the percentage obtained during intervention. Chi-squared and Fisher's exact test were used to compare proportions.
