<div>In case you have missed this...  "Lessons from a Helmet Wearing Campaign in Vietnam" November 3, 2008</div> <div> This paper will briefly lay out a case study of the implementation of a helmet wearing campaign in  Vietnam carried out from August 2006 - present by Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP Foundation) and the Vietnam Helmet Wearing Coalition (VHWC). The campaign's objectives were (1) to fundamentally challenge existing helmet use habits of riders and passengers and (2) to create momentum for the implementation and enforcement of a mandatory helmet law. This paper will discuss why the campaign was necessary, how it was initiated, and what successes resulted. Methods: Preliminary studies revealed that the campaign needed to target "daily excuses," like "it ruins my hair," rather than helmet safety basics. Campaign elements included concerts, billboards, and television commercials. Post-campaign effectiveness measures included observational studies of helmet use and surveys of helmet-use perceptions. Results: Surveys indicated that after being exposed to campaign messages, a higher percent of people chose "safety" as the response to the question: "Why should you wear a helmet?" Observational studies showed helmet use tripled after 4 months of the campaign. Once new legislation was passed in December 2007, helmet use rates amongst adults approached 100%, though compliance amongst passengers under age 14 remained low. Conclusions: A successful public awareness campaign must address the specific barrier to helmet use in the target demographic. In this case, the target demographic was both young road users and the Vietnamese government. The high helmet use rates amongst adults today in Vietnam also helped reveal that different messages must be crafted to target child helmet use, and for this reason the next phase of the campaign will specifically focus on parents and children. Read More : <a href="http://www.asiainjury.org/uploads/Craft_Paper_for_2nd_Asia_Pacific_Paper.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.asiainjury.org/uploads/Craft_Paper_for_2nd_Asia_Pacific_Paper.pdf</a> A lesson for other countries :-) -- Sudhir Gota Transport Specialist CAI-Asia Center Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Metro Manila, Philippines 1605 Tel: +63-2-395-2843 Fax: +63-2-395-2846 <a href="http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia" target="_blank">http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia</a> Skype : sudhirgota </div>