The Seattle children's bicycle helmet campaign: Changes in helmet use and head injury admissions

Objective. To describe the impact of a community bicycle helmet campaign on helmet use and the incidence of bicycle-related head injuries. Setting. Metropolitan community and a large health maintenance organization. Interventions. Communitywide bicycle helmet campaign. Outcomes. Rate of observed bicycle helmet use in the community and incidence of bicycle- related injuries in an health maintenance organization population. Results. Helmet use among school-aged children increased from 5.5% in 1987 to 40.2% in 1992. Bicycle-related head injuries decreased by 66.6% in 5- to 9-year-old and 67.6% in 10- to 14-year-old members of an health maintenance organization. Conclusions. Educational campaigns can increase helmet use and decrease the incidence of bicycle-related head injury.