Eyes Save Lives Water Safety Program for Parents and Caregivers: Program Design and Pilot Evaluation from Southern California

Abstract

Despite expert consensus and evidence-based preventative strategies against drowning, limited formal study exists on translating recommendations into practical and effective interventions. This paper describes the design of an education-based drowning prevention intervention and reports results from a pilot evaluation of the program’s effect on self-reported water-safe behaviors, attitudes, self-efficacy, and knowledge. Parents and caregivers attending children’s swim lessons in July and August 2018 participated in a brief water-safety education program. A pre-post-test design evaluated "Theory of Planned Behavior" indicators to assess for changes. We found significant increases in scores related to water safety knowledge, attitudes on maintaining arms reach distance to children in the pool, recognizing a child in distress, and self-efficacy of responding to water emergencies involving a child between pre- and post-program. Swim lessons provided a captive audience receptive to drowning prevention information. Due to minimal costs, the program could easily be replicated and delivered to a variety of parent groups.