New South Wales Parents’ and Carers’ Beliefs About Behaviours Around Swimming Pools

Abstract

Drowning is a global public health issue, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating 372,000 drowning deaths annually. Children under five are the age group most at risk of unintentional drowning, both fatal and non-fatal. In Australia, an average of 28 children under five drown each year. A further 199 children under five are hospitalised each year in Australia due to a non-fatal drowning incident. Private swimming pools (also known as home swimming pools) are the leading location for drowning among children under five, accounting for 44.8% of fatal drownings among children 0-4 years in Australia in 2016/17. While the strategies for preventing child drowning are widely agreed (e.g. supervision, restricting a child’s access to water, water awareness and resuscitation), lapses in adult supervision and faulty or propped open gates continue to be common causal factors implicated in cases of fatal child drowning in home pools. In order to increase understanding of the knowledge, behaviours and attitudes of parents and carers of children under five with access to a home pool; Royal Life Saving Society – Australia (RLSSA) and Griffith University conducted a representative survey of those residing in NSW, with a particular focus on the two pool-related behaviours of supervision and restricting access to water through the use of pool fencing.