Barriers to using a helmet among motorcyclist students: a qualitative study.

Background: Helmet use rates among motorcyclists are low and various factors are involved. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the use of helmet in motorcycle students in Iran (Bandar Abbas city) in 2019.

Methods: The research was qualitative and data were collected through individual interviews and observations and were interpreted by content analysis method. Participants were 15 motorcyclist students studying in public health (6), nursing (4), dentistry (2), medicine (1), health education (1) and biochemistry (1). They were purposefully included in the study and sampling continued until data saturation. The main tool for data collection was deep semi-structured interviews with open answers which lasted for 20 to 60 minutes. Finally, 15 interviews were collected in this study.

Results: The five main categories (economic, family, socio-cultural, individual, and riding rules) were extracted from the data that each had a subclass.

Conclusions: Different factors in micro and macro dimensions play a role in the use of helmets among motorcyclists. Consideration of these factors by the relevant organizations in the field of traffic can increase the use of helmets.