Citation

Nelson DE, Rivara FP, Condie C. Am. J. Prev. Med. 1994; 10(1): 15-19.

Affiliation

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8172726

Abstract

To determine patterns of helmet use and attitudes toward helmets among horseback riders, we analyzed a subset of data (n = 1,834) from a cross-sectional mail survey of horseback riders conducted from July to December 1991. Riders were randomly selected from the mailing list of a national mail-order company that sells horseback-riding equipment. Of 900 English-style riders, 517 (57.5%) wore helmets on their last ride, compared with only 81 of 684 (11.8%) Western-style riders. Among 546 riders who did not own helmets, their most commonly cited reasons included believing that helmets were unnecessary (43.8%) or uncomfortable (29.9%). Of the 1,263 helmet owners, nearly 62% had one or more complaints about helmets, but 41.1% of owners reported that their helmet had prevented at least one head injury. Increasing helmet use will require major educational efforts with horseback riders and design changes by manufacturers.