I. Abd El-shafy1, L. W. Hansen1, E. Flores1, D. Riccardi1, F. Bullaro-Colasuonno1, J. Nicastro1, J. Prince1 1Cohen Children’s Hospital,Pediatric Surgery,Queens, NY, USA
Introduction: Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death and morbidity among children under age 12. With up to 75% of car seats improperly installed nationally, we propose to characterize a novel valet parking attendant car seat safety injury prevention program and to assess the potential impact when established in a hospital setting.
Methods: : A voluntary, 22 question, anonymous survey was distributed to drivers utilizing the valet parking service in a single suburban Children’s Hospital on weekdays during August 2014. Demographic information, previous car seat installation education or experience, and interest in using a free car seat inspection program were ascertained. Concurrently, a valet parking attendant, who was also a trained car seat technician, offered to provide a free inspection of any car seats. Any errors in installation were immediately corrected and the driver was educated about proper technique. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics using n Query Advisor 4.0 including a power analysis to determine the sample size.
Results: Survey results were collected from 65 participants. Among these, 16 car seats were inspected and only 3 (18.8%) were installed correctly. A minority of participants reported that they had received car seat installation education (29 out of 63, 46%) or had their car seat installed by a trained technician (13 out of 65, 20%). Most reported that they would use a car seat inspection program (63 out of 65, 96.9%) and that it should be provided by hospitals (61 out of 65, 93.8%).
Conclusion: Proper car seat installation in a suburban New York setting is lower than the reported national average of 25%. Despite 97% stated interest in a free car seat inspection program, at most, only 25% completed car seat inspection when offered. Future studies are needed to evaluate more effective means of encouraging participation and adherence.