None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
With longstanding and widespread high rates of errors in child restraint use, there is a need to identify effective methods to address this problem. The study's hypothesis is that product materials developed using a consumer-driven approach will reduce errors in restraint use among purchasers of new child restraint systems. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted. Participants (n=440) will opt-in to the study after hearing about it from a wide variety of promotional strategies within the greater Sydney area. They will join the study as they purchase of a new restraint, and study materials (intervention or control) will be sent to with with the new restraint. Outcome measures are errors in installation of the restraint as observed by a trained researcher during a six-month follow-up home assessment, and adjustment checks made by the parent when the child is placed into the restraint. Process evaluation measures will also be collected during the home visit. The content and format of the additional product information being tested will be supplied in an instruction booklet; a video, accessible through smartphones; as well as laminated labels attached to the restraint, which will serve as a permanent reminder of key aspects of correct installation and correct use. The intervention provides supplementary information to assist users to correctly use the restraint, i.e. (i) how to correctly adjust the restraint to fit their child (ii) how to correctly install the restraint in the vehicle, (iii) how to correctly secure the child in the restraint, and (iv) how to maintain correct use over time. These will be supplied in addition to the Australian Standards required product information. The number of installation errors, as well as correct use and adjustment checks made by the parent will be compared between control and intervention groups. This cluster randomised controlled trial will determine the effectiveness of targeted, consumer-driven information on actual error rates in use of restraints.
Interventions
The intervention targets incorrect restraint use through information supplied with the restraint, (as a supplement to the Australian Standards information on correct child restraint use). The content and format of the new product information will be supplied in an A3 instruction sheet; a video, accessible through smartphones via a QR code. The complete video is seven minutes long, and illustrates the six tasks to installing the restraint in the car and fitting the child into the restraint. The Q
The intervention targets incorrect restraint use through information supplied with the restraint, (as a supplement to the Australian Standards information on correct child restraint use). The content and format of the new product information will be supplied in an A3 instruction sheet; a video, accessible through smartphones via a QR code. The complete video is seven minutes long, and illustrates the six tasks to installing the restraint in the car and fitting the child into the restraint. The QR codes which relate to a specific tasks show just that segment of the video (varying in length from 30 seconds to 2 minutes), for example, "How to secure your child in the restraint". The intervention materials also includes laminated labels attached to the restraint, which will serve as a permanent reminder of the key aspects of correct installation and correct use. Together this intervention information (the A3 instruction sheet, QR coded videos demonstrating correct procedures, and the laminated 'reminder' swing tags) provides essential information needed to correctly use the restraint. The materials provide information on (i) how to correctly install the restraint in the vehicle, (ii) how to correctly adjust the restraint to fit their child, (iii) how to correctly secure the child in the restraint, and (iv) how to maintain correct use over time. No verbal instruction is provided. All materials are available with the restraint at the point of purchase. The materials incorporate low-literacy design principles, including an iterative consumer-testing process shown to be effective. The consumer tested and standard instructions, together with the participant information sheet, will be inserted by the researchers into the box containing the restraint. The instructional materials will be placed in an envelope which will fit into the slit on top of the box. When the participant orders, through the study team, the restraint they are already planning to purchase, the researchers will send the restraint they have selected with the study materials inserted into the box. Participants will be randomised via a computer program into either the intervention group or the control group.
Sponsors
Dr. Julie Brown
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Individual participants will be an expectant parent, or parent/primary carer of at least one child 0-8 yrs, hold a driver’s licence, own at least one vehicle, reside in the greater Sydney metropolitan area and be purchasing one of the nominated child restraints.
Exclusion criteria
Participants will be excluded if they are grandparents or other carers who may be purchasing a restraint but are not themselves the primary carer of a child aged 0-8 years, and therefore they are not likely to be daily users of the restraints. Participants will also be excluded if they have already purchased a new restraint during the recruitment period to prevent double enrolment and minimise contamination.
Outcome results
None listed