title: Canadian parents' attitudes and beliefs about bicycle helmet legislation in provinces with and without legislation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to survey Canadian parents on their attitudes and beliefs about bicycle helmet legislation and to compare responses from parents living in provinces with and without legislation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A national survey of 1002 parents of children aged under 18 years was conducted. Chi-square tests were used to compare responses from the surveyed parents in the different jurisdictions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Responses from parents living in provinces with legislation (n = 640) and without legislation (n = 362) were as follows: concern for injury (63% vs. 68%, nonsignificant [NS]); believe helmets are effective (98% vs. 98%, NS); child always wears a helmet (74% vs. 69%, NS); support legislation for children (95% vs. 83%, p < .001); support legislation for all ages (85% vs. 75%, p < .001); support police enforcement (83% vs. 76%, p = .003); believe legislation decreases the amount of time their child bicycles (5% vs. 8%, NS).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents are highly supportive of bicycle helmet legislation in Canada. They believe that bicycle helmets are effective and that legislation does not decrease the amount of time a child spends bicycling. There was also a high level of support for legislation across all ages, and for police enforcement.
authors.affiliation: Division of Paediatric Medicine and the Paediatric Outcomes Research Team (PORT), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Parkin
authors.affiliation: Division of Paediatric Medicine and the Paediatric Outcomes Research Team (PORT), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Degroot
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Macpherson
authors.affiliation: Safe Kids Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fuselli
authors.affiliation: Division of Paediatric Medicine and the Paediatric Outcomes Research Team (PORT), Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macarthur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011640:Public Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: attitude; bicycle; child; head protective devices; helmets; legislation; public health; surveys