The Effect of Visual Patient Education on Helmet Use Behaviour in Elderly Patients After a Bicycle, E-bike, or Moped Accident

The present study is a multicenter randomized controlled trial designed to evaluatewhether a brief online educational intervention delivered after an ED visit can increasehelmet use among older adults. Eligible participants are patients aged 60 years or olderwho were not wearing a helmet at the time of their bicycle, e‐bike, or moped accident andwho present to one of the participating emergency departments.Following informed consent and completion of a brief baseline questionnaire, participantswill be randomly allocated to either the intervention group or the control group.Participants assigned to the intervention group will receive standard emergency care inaddition to a short online educational video promoting helmet use. The video is designedto provide evidence‐based information regarding the burden of bicycle‐ and moped‐relatedhead injuries, the protective effects of helmet use, and the potential health benefits ofwearing a helmet during future rides. Participants in the control group will receivestandard emergency care alone without the educational video.The primary objective is to determine whether exposure to the educational video resultsin a higher proportion of helmet users six months after the index ED visit compared withstandard care alone. Helmet use at six months will be assessed through a structuredtelephone interview.Secondary objectives include evaluating the association between helmet use at six monthsand symptoms of anxiety and depression, as measured using the Hospital Anxiety andDepression Scale (HADS). In addition, demographic characteristics, accidentcharacteristics (including accident location and weather conditions), injurycharacteristics (including injury type, anatomical injury location, and presence ofmultiple injuries), and patient characteristics (including age, educational level, andintoxication status) will be collected to describe the study population and explorefactors associated with subsequent helmet use.