Evaluating the effectiveness of a science-based community beach safety intervention: The Science of the Surf (SOS) presentation

Abstract

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a science-based beach safety presentation given to multiple audiences in Sydney, NSW, Australia. A total of 383 attendees aged 14 years and over completed pre- and post-intervention surveys associated with 10 Science of the Surf (SOS) presentations with 121 completing a follow-up survey. Following the presentation, attendees showed a significant improvement in their choice not to swim at beaches unpatrolled by lifeguards, intention to check for common hazards such as rip currents, knowledge of what a rip current looked like and ability to identify rip currents in photographs. These improvements were retained at least four weeks after seeing the presentation. However, there was evidence to suggest that perceived improvement of rip current identification led to over-confidence in terms of choosing appropriate swimming locations. Overall, these findings suggest that direct presentations may improve community understanding of beach safety practice and rip current awareness and identification. However, it is recommended that future presentations be given by trained and skilled communicators, use video footage and time lapse imagery of dye releases into rip currents, and use the finding of over-confidence as a cautionary tale when designing beach safety presentations for the public.