HELMET USAGE : ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES AMONGST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS OF KARACHI

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To assess the attitudes and practices of helmet usage among non-medical university students.

METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online self-administered questionnaire, spread over six months. Open Epi calculated a sample size of  384. analyzed by applying the Chi-Square test by399 responses were received, which were analyzed by applying the Chi-Square test using SPSS v. 25.  Association between variables was tabulated and descriptive analysis was performed.

RESULTS: Of the total population of 399, 236 (59.1%) were helmet users, and 163 (40.8%) were non-helmet users. Age and helmet usage were significantly associated (P=0.008<0.05); 49.9% of participants in urban areas wore a helmet compared with only 9.27% of helmet users in rural areas (P=0.027). The majority of both helmet users and non-helmet users do not take other safety precautions. 54% of non-helmet users agreed that strict penalties should be imposed for lack of helmet usage, while only 26.2% reported the affirmative.  71.1% of the helmet users reported that they own a license, compared with only 39.3% of the non-helmet users

CONCLUSION: The majority of participants did not practice helmet usage enough, although they had positive attitudes. Causes of low compliance towards helmets were discomfort, feelings of suffocation, and sweating. Urban riders had significantly better helmet usage than rural area riders, although hardly any wore helmets in the backseat. Since the majority of individuals belonged in their early 20s, therefore awareness campaigns and strict fines should be imposed on university students.

KEYWORDS: Helmet use, two-wheelers, helmet attitude, safety.