RESEARCH PROJECT

Child Restraint Seat Use Among Japanese Households
Principal Investigator: Tatsuhiro Yamanaka, M.D, Childhood Injury Prevention Engineering Council (Tokyo, Japan).
Co-Investigator: Itsumi Kakefuda, MS, Colorado Injury Control Research Center, Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado)  

Abstract
Child restraint seat use in Japan has not become universal after law enactment in 2000, reaching on the plateau of around 50%.  To develop effective interventions to increase child restraint seat use, a three-year research project begun in 2006.  The first year project was a cross-sectional survey which aimed to examine child restraint seat use behaviors, attitudes, perceptions toward risk of child occupant safety, and safety-related beliefs among Japanese mothers, using psychosocial models.  Based on results obtained from the first year project, an intervention targeting a group of parents will be conducted as a third year project.

Outcomes
Kakefuda, I., Yamanaka, T., Stallones, L., Motomura, Y., & Nishida, Y. (under review). Child Restraint Seat Use Behavior and Attitude among Japanese Mothers. Accident Analysis & Prevention.

Kakefuda, I., Yamanaka, T., Motomura, Y., Nishida, Y., & Stallones, L. (2008).
Culturally sensitive injury prevention research: child restraint seat use and attitudes among Japanese mothers. 9th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion. Merida, Mexico.

Kakefuda, I., Yamanaka, T., Motomura, Y., Nishida, Y., & Stallones, L. (April, 2007). Child restraint seat use and attitude among Japanese mothers. Poster presented at Annual Conference of Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Denver, CO.

Yamanaka, T., Kakefuda, I., Motomura, Y., Nishida, Y., & Stallones, L. (2007).
First Year Report of Japan Child Restraint Seat Study submitted to Japan Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry. (Japanese)

COLLBORATION

Childhood Injury Prevention Engineering Council
Director: Tatsuhiro Yamanaka, M.D

CIPEC (Childhood Injury Prevention Engineering Council) is an interdisciplinary network in Japan in childhood injury prevention, which is located in the Digital Human Research Center at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.  Expanding the efforts of Tatsuhiro Yamanaka, M.D., a long time advocate of childhood injury prevention and a founder of CIPEC, the network aims to organize knowledge and skills in different areas of professions into actions of injury prevention.  The network includes a variety of experts such as engineers, physicians, policy makers, safety experts, and psychologists.  Examples of projects CIPEC currently took the initiative are: development of childhood injury surveillance system with the collaboration of a national children hospital; behavioral mapping using sensing techniques; development of visual communication system to disseminate information regarding childhood injury facts and prevention; and research of behaviors and attitudes related to injury prevention and safety promotion from psychosocial perspectives.

CICRC and CIPEC will sign a memorandum of understanding to establish and expand collaborations between two parties.

CIPEC website: http://www.dh.aist.go.jp/projects/child/what'sCIPEC.html