Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35357244›Full record

ArticleInquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing

Unhelmeted Injured Cyclists in a Canadian Emergency Department: Cycling Behavior and Attitudes Towards Helmet Use.

Brenda Varriano, Danielle Porplycia, Steven Marc Friedman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Hospitalizations After Bicycle Accidents: Injury Patterns, Severity and Costs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
    Observational
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Brenda VarrianoDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University Health Network, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0034-1182
Danielle PorplyciaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University Health Network, Ontario, Canada.
Steven Marc FriedmanDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University Health Network, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-7871-3583

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWe seek to characterize unhelmeted injured cyclists presenting to the emergency department: demographics, cycling behavior, and attitudes towards cycling safety and helmet use.

methodsThis was a prospective case series in a downtown teaching hospital. Injured cyclists presenting to the emergency department were recruited for a standardized survey if not wearing a helmet at time of injury and over age 18. Exclusion criteria included inability to consent (language barrier, cognitive impairment) or admission to hospital.

resultsWe surveyed 72 UICs (unhelmeted injured cyclists) with mean age of 34.3 years (range 18-68, median 30, IQR 15.8 years). Most UICs cycled daily or most days per week in non-winter months (88.9%, n = 64). Most regarded cycling in Toronto as somewhat dangerous (44.4%, n = 32) or very dangerous (5.9%, n = 4). Almost all (98.6%, n = 71) had planned to cycle when departing home that day. UICs reported rarely (11.1%, n = 8) or never (65.3%, n = 47) wearing a helmet. Reported factors discouraging helmet use included inconvenience (31.9%, n = 23) and lack of ownership (33.3%, n = 24), but few characterized helmets as unnecessary (11.1%, n = 7) or ineffective (1.4%, n = 1).

conclusionsUnhelmeted injured cyclists were frequent commuter cyclists who generally do not regard cycling as safe yet choose not to wear helmets for reasons largely related to convenience and comfort. Initiatives to increase helmet use should address these perceived barriers, and further explore cyclist perception regarding risk of injury and death.

Indexed as

BicyclingHead Protective DevicesAdolescentAdultAgedAttitudeCanadaEmergency Service, HospitalHumansMiddle AgedYoung Adultbicyclebrain injuryhelmetinjury preventiontrauma

Identifiers

PMID35357244
PMCPMC8977697

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.