Learning from Incidents to Reduce the Risk of Drowning in Swimming Pools: Implementation of Experience-Based Feedback Regarding Near-Misses in Four Public Facilities in France

The prevention of sports accidents must rely on a detailed knowledge of accident circumstances and risk factors. Today, very few studies have investigated in depth non-fatal drowning incidents that have occurred in public swimming pools (PSP). Learning from incidents seems likely to advance the knowledge of accident scenarios. This research study aimed to capture minor incidents that might identify safety lessons and preventive measures. Incidents of minor and major aquatic events were collected from four PSPs that had hosted 700,000 bathers per year. About 800 incidents and 300 aquatic rescues performed by lifeguards were recorded within a time frame of two and one-half years. The analysis of results offered insights both in terms of managing risk and preventing drownings. Drowning risk management could directly benefit from the results of this study. Methodological recommendations also provided suggestions to ensure the proper collection of non-fatal drowning incidents in PSPs

Ability of Lifeguards to Detect Submerged Manikins in Public Swimming Pool Environments

To prevent drownings in public swimming pools (PSP), French legislation requires constant surveillance by state-certified lifeguards. While previous research showed that surveillance was not always effective, this article focuses on efficiency of surveillance when it is effective. We evaluated the ability of 4 volunteer professional lifeguards to detect a submerged manikin under controlled conditions. One hundred and eight (108) tests were carried out in 2 PSP. Four variables were controlled (i.e., distance, depth, surveillance station, attendance). Our results showed that rapid drowning detection was not exclusively linked to the individual detection capabilities of a lifeguard, but rather it emerged from a tight coupling between the lifeguard’s perception and his/her working environment. The tests performed in this study are useful to prevent drownings and therefore should be reproduced in other public swimming pools (i) to identify problematic situations and (ii) to train lifeguards’ surveillance capabilities