Injuries and use of protective equipment among college in-line skaters

Social cognitive determinants of the intention to wear safety gear among adult in-line skaters

“…Accordingly, it seems likely that adult skaters could possess a high awareness of risk of being injured without protective gear and might be more prompted than teenagers to wear protective gear in part because of their perceived risk of severe injury. Since perceived susceptibility and perceived severity correlate with safety gear use among adult skaters (Williams-Avery and MacKinnon, 1996), these dimensions might extend social cognitive models that fail to consider threat perceptions, such as the TPB (Norman and Conner, 1996). This additional contribution of threat perceptions to the TPB has been found in predicting intentions to cross the road in risky situations (Holland and Hill, 2007) or to text message while driving (Walsh et al, 2008), as well as intentions to quit smoking (Norman et al, 1999) and to adhere to malaria prophylaxis regimens (Abraham et al, 1999).…”

“…By investigating the usefulness of the HBM with teenaged cyclists, Lajunen and Räsänen (2004) found a minor effect of perceived severity on helmet-wearing intention, but did not find a significant contribution of perceived susceptibility. In a study of adult skaters, Williams-Avery and MacKinnon (1996) found that both perceived susceptibility and, to a lesser extent, perceived severity were positively correlated with the frequency of gear use, although the strength of these dimensions declined when they were viewed with the other HBM constructs. In the HBM, perceived susceptibility of adult skaters, but not perceived severity, was associated with the proportion of time protective gear was worn.…”

“…Conversely, skaters wearing wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads could reduce the number of their wrist injuries by 87%, their elbow injuries by 82% and their knee injuries by 32% (Schieber et al, 1996). Although the use of protective equipment is associated with a decreased likelihood of hospitalisation (Adams et al, 1996), numerous studies have shown that few skaters (1.4-7%) self-report that they wear full protective equipment (Adams et al, 1996;Schieber et al, 1996;Williams-Avery and MacKinnon, 1996). Of particular note, safety gear use is alarmingly low in adult recreational in-line skaters and safe skating education programs that promote the wearing of safety gear should consider targeting this newly recognized at-risk skating population (Seldes et al, 1999).…”

Personal protective equipment use by in‐line skaters in Victoria

“…Similar low usage rates have been reported from observational studies in the US. 11,19 By contrast, one survey found that 15% of in-line skaters self-report 'always wearing' all four recommended pieces of PPE. 16 The most popular item of PPE was wrist guards, worn by 25.9% of skaters.…”

“…13 Reasons cited in the literature for skaters not wearing PPE are that it is perceived to be unnecessary, is uncomfortable, looks foolish, is inconvenient, is an added expense and peers do not approve. 17,19 Peer influence is also reported as a contributory factor for bicycle helmet use in primary school-aged children 23 and teenagers. 24 Our finding suggests that if a selected group of role models can be convinced to wear PPE, their example may have an exponential positive effect among their peers.…”