Observational research is one of the most common and useful/informative forms of research studies in the field psychology, statistics, social sciences, and epidemiology. The observational researcher makes inferences from a sample drawn from the population of interest and ensures that the independent variable in question remains uncontrolled (due to ethical and logistical concerns). This assignment was also an observational study exploring helmet wearing behaviour (as the independent variable) among a sample drawn from the general population of skaters, cyclists, and other high-risk sports such as sledding, lugging, snow kitting, skiing, snowmobiling, among others. There are many factors that could contribute to the decision to wear or not wear a helmet during these sporting activities. For a successful observational study, none of these factors was controlled in any way. I observed cyclists on my commute to school on a given day and visited the Tsawwassen Skatepark over the weekend during my trip home to Vancouver. The findings and implications subject to this week's reading are reported below.
Findings from the Research
For this assignment, I observed and recorded the number of cyclist, square riders, and skaters that wore a helmet and other protective gear on my way to school. On this day, I trekked to school and observing was made much easier compared to how it would have been if I used other means of transit. I also included some data from a video I took of skaters sporting in the Tsawwassen skatepark, which I recorded this past weekend when I visited some relatives in Vancouver. I counted approximately 40 individuals with on bikes or rolls, 33 of who did not have a helmet on. A good number (28) had at least one other piece of protection for the elbow knees palms or wrists, but not a helmet which is fundamentally the most important. From my observation, therefore, 82.5% of the individuals on random commute did not care for putting on a helmet. On the other hand, the video clip I took at the skating parlor in Tsawwassen skateparks revealed an opposite outcome. Out of 16 skaters actively skating and 9 watching from the sidelines, around 20 either had a helmet on or at hand. This shows that 80% of the skaters had helmets and only 20% took the chance. This should majorly be attributed to the rules of skating and or fear of injury.
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Brain Injury Associated With Lack of a Helmet
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people annually and is, therefore, a global public health concern. TBI related hospital admissions and deaths have increased dramatically over the last decade. Non-accidental TBI has high incidents in veterans, athletes, and sportsmen, but mainly occurs during recreational and sporting activities. The mortality rate for TBI is less than 3% globally, but the physico-psychosocial comorbidities are staggering-high (Georges & Booker, 2020). Some include tremors, headaches, nausea, drowsiness, impaired memory, speech difficulty, coma, aphasia, seizures, amnesia, behavioral abnormalities, depression, anxiety, aggression and in severe cases, death (Galgano et al., 2017). A study Ganti et al. (2013) investigated the impact of helmet use in reducing TBI. According to the findings, lack of a helmet was significantly linked to more severe TBI compared with scooter riders, recreational cyclists, and skaters not wearing a helmet. The results showed that only 25% of those wearing a helmet were admitted to the ICU compared 36% of TBI admissions who were not wearing helmets. The length of hospital stay was also longer for those who did not use helmets. Given these findings, individuals should avoid riding without a helmet as the consequences may be to the grave to fathom. Personally, I do not fancy recreational activities that involve skating. However, I occasionally ride my bike, but I do not wear a helmet. I use to wear one when I was little because my parents required it. Nowadays I hardly put on a helmet. However, now that I fully understand the associated risks, I will be more inclined to use a helmet every time I ride my bicycle. This will help me avoid brain injury.
From what I observed people ride, skate or ski without helmets primarily because of the following reasons; [1] there is no one to force them to use a helmet; [2] there are no rules against riding without a helmet; [3] overconfidence in their abilities not to fall; and finally; [4] aesthetic reasons such as looking cool to impress their peers and the helmet being uncomfortable to wear. The main reasons why I would recommend adoption of helmet-wearing behavior are; [1] protection from life-threatening and life impairing TBI; [2] adults who practice helmet wearing behavior act as role models to younger individuals who are at a higher risk of brain injury while riding, skating or skiing (Wood, 2014); and finally [3] wearing a helmet saves one a lot of money otherwise spent treating head injuries.
References
Galgano, M., Toshkezi, G., Qiu, X., Russell, T., Chin, L., & Zhao, L. R. (2017). Traumatic brain injury: current treatment strategies and future endeavors. Cell transplantation , 26 (7), 1118-1130.
Ganti, L., Bodhit, A. N., Daneshvar, Y., Patel, P. S., Pulvino, C., Hatchitt, K., ... & Tyndall, J. A. (2013). Impact of helmet use in traumatic brain injuries associated with recreational vehicles. Advances in preventive medicine , 2013 .
Georges, A., & Booker, J. G. (2020). Traumatic brain injury. StatPearls [Internet] .
Wood, S. E. (2014). The world of psychology . Pearson Canada.
