Disparities in Adolescent Reported Drowning Prevention Strategies

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Injury Prevention

Background:

• Drowning remains a significant public health concern, particularly among diverse adolescent populations.
• Understanding disparities in access to and use of drowning prevention strategies is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the utilization of drowning prevention strategies among diverse adolescent populations.
• To examine associations between formal swimming lessons, water competency, and life jacket use with demographic factors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 47,051 responses from Washington statewide surveys (2012-2018) of 8th-12th grade students.
• Survey-weighted Poisson regression was used to assess strategies in relation to race/ethnicity, primary language, maternal education, and urbanicity.

Main Results:

• While most students reported swimming lessons (62.2%), water competency (65.8%), and life jacket use (58.5%), disparities were observed.
• Adolescents primarily speaking Spanish reported lower rates of swimming lessons (PR: 0.72) and water competency (PR: 0.75) compared to English speakers.
• All prevention strategies were positively associated with higher maternal education levels.

Conclusions:

• Drowning prevention strategies, including swimming lessons and life jacket use, should be actively promoted.
• Targeted outreach is needed for low-income children and those whose primary language is not English to improve access and water safety.
• Enhancing water competency and access to safety measures is vital for reducing drowning risks in diverse adolescent groups.