Passengers' attitudes and behaviour towards motorcycle helmet use in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

Head injuries are a leading cause of death and morbidity among motorcycle users. The use of crash helmet is the most successful approach to preventing injury among motorcycle users. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, knowledge, and behavior of motorcycle passengers to helmet use in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria. A simple random technique was adopted to administer questionnaire consisting of questions on socio­demographics, patterns of motorcycle use, frequency of helmet use, attitudes and perception on the use of helmet to 350 passengers in 35 selected parks.There were 305 respondents with modal age of 18-23years . Majority of the respondents were students 149(48.9%). There were 53(17.4%) artisans and  41(13.4%) traders. About ten percent had no formal education. The frequency of self-reported helmet use  as the passenger was 36.4%.  Routine helmet use was greater among respondents with tertiary education(n=36). Reason for non use of helmet included fear of contracting diseases in 108(46%) respondents, and heaviness 59(25.1%). One hundred and seventy four(56.8%) respondents believed that helmet use is necessary while remaining 131(43.2%) think it is not necessary to wear helmet. Seventy-two percent of respondents believed that helmet use should not be made compulsory for passengers, with no significant difference in literacy level (p = 0.1395). This study highlighted perceived risk of contracting infection from helmets and the discomfort associated with wearing a helmet as the main negative factors against helmet use by motorcycle passengers. The implications for injury prevention and strategies for improvement were discussed.