Psychological and social factors affecting the use of helmets in motorcyclist students: a qualitative study

Use of helmets for motorcyclist students is an effective way to reduce the motorcycle crash injuries and costs. Helmet use rates among motorcyclists are low and various factors are involved. Therefore, the present study aimed to empirically explore the factors affecting the use of helmet in motorcyclist students in Bandar Abbas city in ۲۰۱۹. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews and observations and were interpreted by content analysis method. Participants were ۱۵ motorcyclist students studying in public health (۶), nursing (۴), dentistry (۲), medicine (۱), health education (۱) and biochemistry (۱). Participants were purposefully included in the study and sampling continued until data saturation. The main tool for data collection was deep semi-structured interviews with open answers. Overall ۱۵ interviews were performed between ۲۰ to ۶۰ minutes. Five main categories with their subclass were emerged from the data analyses, including eeconomic, family, socio-cultural, individual, and driving rules. Our findings suggest that different factors play a role in the use of helmets among motorcyclists. Consideration of these factors by the relevant organizations in the field of traffic can increase the use of helmets and consequently reduce the rate of head injuries and associated deaths with it.

کلیدواژه ها:

Traffic accidents ، Helmet ، Qualitative Research