Overloaded and Unrestrained: A Qualitative Study with Local Experts Exploring Factors Affecting Child Car Restraint Use in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

(1) Background: Children in South Africa experience significant impacts from road injury due to the high frequency of road crashes and the low uptake of road safety measures (including the use of appropriate child restraints). The current study aimed to assess the feasibility of a child restraint program and to describe factors influencing child restraint use from the perspectives of clinicians, representatives of non-government agencies, and academics in Cape Town, South Africa. (2) Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 experts from government, academic and clinical backgrounds. Findings were analyzed using the COM-B component of the Behaviour Change Wheel and were grouped by the layers of the social-ecological model (individual, relational, community and societal). (COM-B is a framework to explain behaviour change which has three key components; capability, opportunity and motivation), (3) Results: Experts believed that there was a need for a child restraint program that should be staged and multifactorial. Participants described knowledge gaps, perceptions of risk, mixed motivations and limited enforcement of child restraint legislation as key influences of restraint use. (4) Conclusions: The results demonstrate potential areas on which to focus interventions to increase child restraint use in Cape Town, South Africa. However, this will require a coordinated and consistent response across stakeholder groups.