| Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under and of these children who were fatally injured more that 60% were not using safety restraints at the time of the collision. In addition, many children are being shifted from child safety seats to adult safety belts prematurely. For proper protection, children who have outgrown child safety seats require booster seats combined with vehicle lap/shoulder belts.; The current research went through a systematic approach, from several perspectives, to develop an effective pamphlet to increase behavioral compliance of purchasing a booster seat.; Study 1 consisted of 43 subject matter experts who were used to determine pertinent information that should be included in a complete booster seat pamphlet. Nine of the 20 items showed significance and were included in the first iteration of the pamphlet. Study 2 consisted of 5 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study, evaluated the usability of the first iteration pamphlet. A total of 18 items were changed in the pamphlet and a subsequent second iteration of the pamphlet was developed.; Study 3 consisted of 30 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study, were used to assess the comprehensibility (Cloze test), hazard-risk judgments (carefulness ratings), and understandability (questionnaire) of three booster seat pamphlets. Study 4 consisted of 8 human factors graduate students who were used to assess the reading level (SMOG test), instructional design and inclusion of learning principles (BIDS-3 test), and readability (RAINS test) of three booster seat pamphlets.; Study 5 consisted of 45 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study. Three booster seat pamphlets, two from the child passenger safety industry and the third iteration pamphlet were used as treatments (15 participants per group).; This research increased our understanding of information design and well as generating general design guidelines for pamphlets. In addition, this research produced a pamphlet for credible sources to use as an education tool for parents who have children who should be in booster seats and are not placed in them when riding in a vehicle. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
