Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review

Drowning is a frequently occurring and preventable public health issue. Internationally, drowning literature has focussed on children under 5 years, however, evidence based interventions to prevent adult drowning are needed to reduce deaths on a global scale. The aim of this paper is to systematical...

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Main Authors: Leavy, Justine, Crawford, Gemma, Portsmouth, Linda, Jancey, Jonine, Leaversuch, Francene, Nimmo, L., Hunt, Kristen
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer New York 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17100
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author Leavy, Justine
Crawford, Gemma
Portsmouth, Linda
Jancey, Jonine
Leaversuch, Francene
Nimmo, L.
Hunt, Kristen
author_facet Leavy, Justine
Crawford, Gemma
Portsmouth, Linda
Jancey, Jonine
Leaversuch, Francene
Nimmo, L.
Hunt, Kristen
author_sort Leavy, Justine
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Drowning is a frequently occurring and preventable public health issue. Internationally, drowning literature has focussed on children under 5 years, however, evidence based interventions to prevent adult drowning are needed to reduce deaths on a global scale. The aim of this paper is to systematically identify and analyse the evidence for drowning interventions with an adult focus. A systematic search was undertaken for peer-reviewed articles which were published in English between 1990 and 2012, focused on adults and described a drowning intervention. After quality appraisal by expert reviewers using a purposively tailored checklist, a final total of six studies were included for review. The six studies were all conducted in high income countries. Four were drowning interventions, two were retrospective analyses. The drowning interventions duration ranged from 10 days to 5 years, the analysis studies from 6 to 21 years. Two of the studies reviewed used behaviour change theory to inform development, and two reported formative evaluation. Prevention strategies included education (n = 3), technology (n = 1) and environmental (n = 1). Positive short term effects and significant behaviour change in life jacket use was reported (n = 2). A mixed effect was observed in the six studies. The complexity of the issues surrounding drowning requires the collection of robust data and evaluation of preventative measures to support the development of targeted and tailored prevention interventions. This review reinforces the need for a genuine and sustained global approach to addressing adult drowning prevention. Drowning is a serious public health issue and should receive the same attention as other public health priorities.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-171002017-09-13T15:44:34Z Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review Leavy, Justine Crawford, Gemma Portsmouth, Linda Jancey, Jonine Leaversuch, Francene Nimmo, L. Hunt, Kristen Drowning is a frequently occurring and preventable public health issue. Internationally, drowning literature has focussed on children under 5 years, however, evidence based interventions to prevent adult drowning are needed to reduce deaths on a global scale. The aim of this paper is to systematically identify and analyse the evidence for drowning interventions with an adult focus. A systematic search was undertaken for peer-reviewed articles which were published in English between 1990 and 2012, focused on adults and described a drowning intervention. After quality appraisal by expert reviewers using a purposively tailored checklist, a final total of six studies were included for review. The six studies were all conducted in high income countries. Four were drowning interventions, two were retrospective analyses. The drowning interventions duration ranged from 10 days to 5 years, the analysis studies from 6 to 21 years. Two of the studies reviewed used behaviour change theory to inform development, and two reported formative evaluation. Prevention strategies included education (n = 3), technology (n = 1) and environmental (n = 1). Positive short term effects and significant behaviour change in life jacket use was reported (n = 2). A mixed effect was observed in the six studies. The complexity of the issues surrounding drowning requires the collection of robust data and evaluation of preventative measures to support the development of targeted and tailored prevention interventions. This review reinforces the need for a genuine and sustained global approach to addressing adult drowning prevention. Drowning is a serious public health issue and should receive the same attention as other public health priorities. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17100 10.1007/s10900-015-9991-6 Springer New York restricted
spellingShingle Leavy, Justine
Crawford, Gemma
Portsmouth, Linda
Jancey, Jonine
Leaversuch, Francene
Nimmo, L.
Hunt, Kristen
Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review
title Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review
title_full Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review
title_fullStr Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review
title_full_unstemmed Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review
title_short Recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: A review
title_sort recreational drowning prevention interventions for adults, 1990–2012: a review
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/17100