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Background Mandatory bicycle helmet and booster seat laws for children are now common across Canada and the United States. Previous research has found that despite legislation, child compliance is often low. Our objectives were to identify and compare children's perspectives on barriers to and facilitators of their use of bicycle helmets and booster seats. Methods Eleven focus groups were conducted with a total of 76 children; five groups of children between the ages of 4 and 8 years discussed booster seats and bicycle helmets, and six groups of children between the ages of 9 and 13 years discussed bicycle helmets. Efforts were made to include diverse participants from a variety of ethno-cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Results Poor fit and physical discomfort were most often described as barriers to bicycle helmet use. Helmet appearance was a barrier for some children but acted as a facilitator for others. Booster seat facilitators included convenient features such as drink cup holders and being able to sit higher up in order to have a better view, while barriers included fear of being teased, and wanting to feel and be seen as more mature by wearing a seatbelt only. Conclusions The main barriers to usage of bicycle helmets and booster seats identified by young people were modifiable and fit within a theory of planned behaviour framework that includes subjective norms, child attitudes towards safety equipment and perceived behavioural control of its usage. Recommendations were made regarding how these elements can be utilized in future injury prevention campaigns.

To date, little work has compared similarities and differences between parent and young people's perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of bicycle helmet and booster seat usage. Our goal was to conduct such a comparison in order to inform future safety campaigns. Eleven focus groups with a total of 68 parents and 11 focus groups with a total of 76 young people were conducted. Recruitment was conducted and focus groups were held in diverse neighbourhoods to facilitate participation by families from a variety of cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, parents and their children agreed on 50% of the barriers identified for bicycle helmet use and approximately 40% of the barriers for booster seats. Barriers common to both types of equipment for parents and children included comfort, style and design, and fear of teasing. Common facilitators included perceived safety, and comfort. While there was considerable overlap between the perspectives of parents and young people, there were also differences, underscoring the importance of addressing both perspectives. The barriers and facilitators identified were modifiable to a large extent; based on these, recommendations for future injury prevention campaigns were outlined.