Seat belt use and social inequality in Belgium.
BACKGROUND
To search for and quantify the importance of socio-economic inequality in seat belt use in young Belgians (15-24 years old).


METHODS
Using the data of the National Health Survey of Belgium (1997), socio-economic indicators were constructed combining characteristics of the individual and the household to which s/he 'belongs' (equivalent household income, employment, poverty, subjective poverty, and socio-economic insecurity) and the corresponding concentration curves and indices were calculated.


RESULTS
Significant differences were found in seat belt use related to young people's socio-economic status. The failure to buckle up was concentrated most heavily in the least favoured socio-economic groups. Such inequality was a constant finding, although its magnitude varied according to the socio-economic indicator used, going from -0.142 for the variable 'occupational category of the household' to -0.028 for the variable 'poverty'.


CONCLUSIONS
This finding of true socio-economic inequality in the use of seat belts by 15-24 year olds should prompt special vigilance in health promotion approaches aimed at changing behaviour. It also underlines the importance of being attentive to the socio-economic indicators that are chosen to quantify such inequality in intra- and inter-country comparisons.
Leveque
Alain
A
Health Policies & Systems Department, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. alain.leveque@ulb.ac.be
Humblet
Perrine
P
Lagasse
Raphaël
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001530:Belgium; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D012622:Seat Belts; D012923:Social Class; D012935:Social Justice