Water Safety Education Programs in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Seattle Communities: Program Design and Pilot Evaluation

Abstract

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.

Using ERIC to Assess Implementation Science in Drowning Prevention Interventions in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

“…Involve target group in intervention development or implementation Telephone interviews to assess uptake and adherence Barriers such as language and childcare resolved Ensuring participants comfort as intervention progresses Community ownership of intervention messaging Location and timing of intervention [47,53,55,65,67,68,71,75,79,80,83,85,86,91] Increase demand (c7_01) 7…”

“…Barriers such as language and childcare resolved Ensuring participants comfort as intervention progresses Community ownership of intervention messaging Location and timing of intervention [47,53,55,65,67,68,75,79,80,83,85,86,9 Increase demand (c7_01) 7…”