The effect of the 'Swim Reaper' program on water safety awareness, drowning mortality and morbidity among males aged 15-34 years in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Adolescent
Behavior change
Drowning
Male
Prevention
Public awareness
Risk
Water safety
Journal
Journal of safety research
ISSN: 1879-1247
Titre abrégé: J Safety Res
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 1264241
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Feb 2024
Feb 2024
Historique:
received:
01
06
2023
revised:
22
10
2023
accepted:
08
11
2023
medline:
18
3
2024
pubmed:
15
3
2024
entrez:
14
3
2024
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
To increase water safety awareness among young males New Zealand introduced the Swim Reaper program in 2016. The program ran annually over summer and in 2018/19 an evaluation was conducted. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the 2018/19 Swim Reaper social media-based campaign on self-reported water safety awareness and identify changes in fatal and nonfatal drowning rates for New Zealand resident males aged 15-34 years before and after the 2016 Swim Reaper program. Online surveys pre (December-2018) and post (February-March-2019) Swim Reaper campaign were used to estimate water safety awareness post-campaign relative to pre-campaign using negative binomial regression adjusted for potential confounders. Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis, adjusted for seasonality, explored changes in drowning mortality, hospital admissions and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims pre and post program introduction (2016). A total of 518 males responded (50.6% post-campaign). There were significant improvements (post vs. pre-campaign) in self-reported water safety awareness. ITS analysis showed a reduction in drowning related hospital admissions post relative to pre-program (RR = 0.47; [95%CI: 0.24-0.90]; p = 0.02). Young males are an at-risk cohort for drowning and creating behavior change among this group can be challenging. Using a unique, humor-based approach the Swim Reaper program appears to be having some impact on self-reported water safety behaviors, as well as unintentional drowning-related hospitalization rates. Further evaluation, more clearly linked to campaign themes, is required to ascertain direct impact of the program. The novelty and reach of the campaign within the context of a prevailing downward trend in drownings may provide support for social media-based programs targeting this hard-to-reach demographic.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
To increase water safety awareness among young males New Zealand introduced the Swim Reaper program in 2016. The program ran annually over summer and in 2018/19 an evaluation was conducted. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the 2018/19 Swim Reaper social media-based campaign on self-reported water safety awareness and identify changes in fatal and nonfatal drowning rates for New Zealand resident males aged 15-34 years before and after the 2016 Swim Reaper program.
METHODS
METHODS
Online surveys pre (December-2018) and post (February-March-2019) Swim Reaper campaign were used to estimate water safety awareness post-campaign relative to pre-campaign using negative binomial regression adjusted for potential confounders. Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis, adjusted for seasonality, explored changes in drowning mortality, hospital admissions and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims pre and post program introduction (2016).
RESULTS
RESULTS
A total of 518 males responded (50.6% post-campaign). There were significant improvements (post vs. pre-campaign) in self-reported water safety awareness. ITS analysis showed a reduction in drowning related hospital admissions post relative to pre-program (RR = 0.47; [95%CI: 0.24-0.90]; p = 0.02).
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
Young males are an at-risk cohort for drowning and creating behavior change among this group can be challenging. Using a unique, humor-based approach the Swim Reaper program appears to be having some impact on self-reported water safety behaviors, as well as unintentional drowning-related hospitalization rates. Further evaluation, more clearly linked to campaign themes, is required to ascertain direct impact of the program.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
The novelty and reach of the campaign within the context of a prevailing downward trend in drownings may provide support for social media-based programs targeting this hard-to-reach demographic.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38485362
pii: S0022-4375(23)00174-3
doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.006
pii:
doi:
Substances chimiques
Water
059QF0KO0R
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
190-198Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Simon Williamson (SW) and Felicity Fozard (FF) are employed by Water Safety New Zealand. Water Safety New Zealand provided funding support for the research. Analyses were conducted independent of the funder and authors SW and FF. The authors declare no conflict of interest..