Alcohol_Focused Drowning Prevention Campaigns: What Do We Know and What Should We Do Now?

Alcohol and drugs have been identified as key risk factors for youth (aged 15-24 years) and adult drownings in high-income countries (HIC). Whilst alcohol specific drowning prevention education programs have been developed and implemented, youth continue to be over-represented in drowning statistics, including those linked with alcohol. Therefore, this project aimed to: (i) review and assess all alcohol themed drowning prevention campaigns within HICs; (ii) determine whether the campaign had undergone evaluation for effectiveness; and (iii) provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness of future interventions. For each of the eighty-one HICs identified for the 2019 fiscal year, searches of peer-reviewed literature (through academic databases) and grey literature (through webpages and emails to organisations) were conducted. Twelve alcohol focused campaigns were identified, with only two providing limited information about program evaluation. For most campaigns identified, there was a dearth of information available and therefore assessment of campaign quality was unfeasible. This brief report highlights a lack of alcohol themed drowning prevention campaigns in HIC, and an absence of evaluations on their effectiveness. Implications associated with a lack of program evaluation are discussed and adoption of the recommendations from this brief report should enhance the quality of future research in this area

Unobtrusive Observation of Caregiver-Child Pairs at Public Pools and Playgrounds: Implications for Child Unintentional Injury Risk

This study aimed to determine and compare the nature of supervision children received in two settings that have different levels of environmental risk, an aquatic setting (public pools) and a non-aquatic setting (playground). An observational design was implemented to examine caregiver and child behaviors at six indoor public pools and four playgrounds. Chi-square tests of homogeneity were conducted to determine associations between caregiver and child variables. Pre-school children received significantly higher levels of supervision than school aged children in both settings. For school aged children the level of supervision varied between settings, with children significantly more likely to be unsupervised in public pools and poorly supervised in playgrounds. Reasons for the lack of supervision in aquatic settings remain unclear, particularly as this setting was considered to be of higher environmental risk, because drowning rates are high for young children. Because evidence indicates inadequate supervision is common in aquatic settings, further investigations are required to identify ways to promote closer supervision practices, and determine caregiver perceptions regarding their responsibilities when supervising young children in aquatic settings

Alcohol_focused drowning prevention campaigns : what do we know and what should we do now?

Alcohol and drugs have been identified as key risk factors for youth (aged 15-24 years) and adult drownings in high-income countries (HIC). Whilst alcohol specific drowning prevention education programs have been developed and implemented, youth continue to be over-represented in drowning statistics, including those linked with alcohol. Therefore, this project aimed to: (i) review and assess all alcohol themed drowning prevention campaigns within HICs; (ii) determine whether the campaign had undergone evaluation for effectiveness; and (iii) provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness of future interventions. For each of the eighty-one HICs identified for the 2019 fiscal year, searches of peer-reviewed literature (through academic databases) and grey literature (through webpages and emails to organisations) were conducted. Twelve alcohol focused campaigns were identified, with only two providing limited information about program evaluation. For most campaigns identified, there was a dearth of information available and therefore assessment of campaign quality was unfeasible. This brief report highlights a lack of alcohol themed drowning prevention campaigns in HIC, and an absence of evaluations on their effectiveness. Implications associated with a lack of program evaluation are discussed and adoption of the recommendations from this brief report should enhance the quality of future research in this area. © 2020 Human Kinetics Publishers Inc.. All rights reserved

Drowning in Australia is more than coastal drowning

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Water safety education programs in culturally and linguistically diverse seattle communities : program design and pilot evaluation

Drowning is a public health concern that disproportionally affects children and minorities in Washington State. Community health educators from Seattle Children's Hospital designed a Water Safety Education and Lifejacket Giveaway Program for low-income parents of preschool-aged children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The program was interpreted into multiple languages and parents and children in attendance received free lifejackets. The mixed-methods pilot evaluation of this program found statistically significant relationships between language and self-reported parent swim skill level (English-speaker OR 4.6; 95%CI: 1.84 - 11.54); and confidence of keeping one's child safe (English-speaker OR 3.34; 95%CI: 1.10 - 10.4). Additionally, parents who self-reported that they could swim had four times the odds of feeling confident in keeping their children safe around the water (95% CI: 1.21 - 13.28). Qualitative data from follow-up interviews identified that the program boosted parent knowledge and confidence in safe water practices. Multi-lingual delivery and the role of partner preschools was critical to this program's success. Specific programmatic focus on adult parent/caregiver skills and knowledge that reduce risk around the water should be a priority for future efforts to reduce drowning. © 2021 Human Kinetics Publishers Inc.. All rights reserved

Unobtrusive observation of caregiver-child pairs at public pools and playgrounds: Implications for child unintentional injury risk

This study aimed to determine and compare the nature of supervision children received in two settings that have different levels of environmental risk, an aquatic setting (public pools) and a nonaquatic setting (playgrounds). An observational design was implemented to examine caregiver and child behaviors at six indoor public pools and four playgrounds. Chi-square tests of homogeneity were conducted to determine associations between caregiver and child variables. Preschool children received significantly higher levels of supervision than school-aged children in both settings. For school-aged children the level of supervision varied between settings, with children significantly more likely to be unsupervised in public pools and poorly supervised on playgrounds. Reasons for the lack of supervision in aquatic settings remain unclear, particularly as this setting was considered to present higher environmental risk, because drowning rates are high for young children. Because evidence indicates inadequate supervision is common in aquatic settings, further investigations are required to identify ways to promote closer supervision practices and determine caregiver perceptions regarding their responsibilities when supervising young children in aquatic settings.C

Getting in : safe water entry competencies

In high income countries, jumping and diving into water are a small but persistent cause of death and serious injury especially among male youth and young adults. Although water entries maintain a high media profile, little is known about what entry competencies and underlying water safety knowledge youth bring to this practice. Undergraduates enrolled in aquatics (N= 76) completed a survey before attempting 7 entry jumping and diving tasks. While safety attitudes and self-reported behaviours were generally good, considerable variation in practical entry competence was evident. Most completed a deep-water compact jump (87%) and PFD jump (88%) with ease. Many completed a crouch dive (57%) and standing dive (53%) into deep water with ease, but only 33% completed a standing dive from a block/bulkhead (<1m height) with ease. Ways of addressing weaknesses in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours are discussed and recommendations made to enhance the teaching of safe water entry. © 2021 Human Kinetics Publishers Inc.. All rights reserved