Qualitative exploration of barriers and enablers to migrant access to water safety programmes in Australia

Drowning is a global public health challenge with a need to ensure equity to drowning prevention information and interventions. In Australia, people born overseas are identified as being at greater risk of drowning. This paper presents findings from a community-based qualitative evaluation of swimming and water safety (SWS) programs delivered to adults from migrant backgrounds in Sydney, Australia. A qualitative study was conducted in November-December 2019 among 35 female participants of SWS programs targeted to adult migrants. While offered to all SWS program participants, no males took part in the study. Focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using a deductive approach. The domains of enquiry were guided by the health belief model and the theory of planned behaviour. Study participants were ≥25years, first generation and most had lived in Australia for ≥10years. Most were nonswimmers and were fearful of water prior to the program. Key themes were: direct SWS program outcomes, health and well-being; enablers and barriers to participation including: motivation, a program coordinator, fear and settlement priorities. Findings suggest that in order to increase SWS participation among migrant communities, the broader determinants of health need to be considered. Culturally appropriate strategies are required to enable both men and women equal opportunities to access SWS programs. SWS programs provide multiple benefits for adult migrants; however, the impact on reducing inequities is limited, with broader multi-strategic health promotion approaches and policies required for inclusion and sustainability.

Drowning is a global public health issue, with minority populations, including migrants, experiencing significant disparities in drowning. The World Health Organization recommends learning to swim as a strategy to reduce drowning. In Australia, migrants are identified as a priority population for drowning prevention, accounting for approximately one-third of all drowning deaths.This study aimed to identify swimming and water safety programs aimed at adult migrant populations in Australia and to explore how these programs are meeting the needs of migrant adults.Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology a desktop review was conducted of 30 publicly accessible swimming and water safety programs across Australia aimed at migrant communities. From this review, six programs were purposively selected for in-depth analysis. Interviews and focus groups with 63 participants (program, managers, swim teachers and program participants), were conducted, guided by the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour. Data was thematically analysed using a deductive approach.Four overlapping key themes with 14 sub-themes were identified: (1) Motivations for establishing programs for migrant adults, (2) Perceived barriers to participation, (3) Addressing cultural and socio-economic determinants of health and (4) Factors and challenges to program success. Findings revealed that drowning among migrant communities was the catalyst for establishing programs, and that staff consciously design these swim programs to make programs accessible and relevant to migrants. This includes offering single-gender programs, providing culturally appropriate swimwear, having bilingual teachers, low or no cost participation fees and ensuring training pathways to employment in the aquatic industry.Swimming and water safety programs that acknowledge and respond to migrants’ needs and characteristics offer multiple benefits beyond drowning prevention, including improved physical, social and mental health, and positive settlement experiences. These programs highlight the importance of acquiring water safety awareness, knowledge and skills, and how this can influence generational attitudes and behaviour towards drowning risk and water engagement. Drowning is a complex public health issue, with collaboration among multisectoral stakeholders required to create an impact and reduce inequities, especially for vulnerable populations such as migrant adults.

Water safety programs to protect children from water-related accidents and increase their awareness of the risk factor crucial to maintaining safety. This study examined the behavior of 48 junior high school students after an intervention program on water safety in a river using the Rohrmann’s Risk Communication Model and the Analysis, Design, Development, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to collect responses about the children’s perception of danger at three-time points: pre-post-post (5 months) after the program’s implementation. We hypothesized that water safety education can increase children’s awareness of appropriate behavior around water and raise their awareness of danger. The evaluation indicators consisted of an increase in the awareness of the water area risk perception, general risk acceptance, and risk-taking behavior. The results suggest that practical water safety program may have a positive effect on the students’ awareness of water safety and help prevent water accidents. This study is unique in that it was conducted in a natural body of water.

BackgroundMigrants have been identified as a priority population in the Australian Water Safety Strategy, representing around one-third of all drowning deaths in Australia. An access inequity to swimming and water...

Drowning is a public health challenge, disproportionately impacting children. Social determinants of health (SDH) such as socio-economic disadvantage and geographic isolation increase drowning risk. Swimming and water safety lessons, in part, have reduced drowning in children, while also enabling healthy aquatic participation. Research suggests that some Australian children receive insufficient swimming and water safety education and are not achieving essential skills. A cross-sectional retrospective analysis of swimming and water safety skills achieved by a cohort of children (5-12years) attending commercial swimming lessons in three Australian states was undertaken. Variables included participant demographics (age, gender, and the SDH of socio-economic status [SES], and geographical remoteness) and skills being taught and achieved. Skills achieved were analysed against the National Swimming & Water Safety Framework and the National Benchmark. Swim schools were more likely to teach freestyle (87%) and backstroke (83%); and less likely to teach water safety skills like treading water (53%), and survival backstroke (46%). Overall, 40% of 12-year-old children failed to achieve the National Benchmark of 50 metres freestyle, fewer were achieving minimum water safety skills. Children from low socio-economic areas and regional locations were less likely to be achieving 50 metres freestyle. Children in this study were commonly from major cities (94%) and of high socio-economic areas (53%). Swimming lessons must incorporate a broad range of swimming and water safety competencies to ensure children have the skills required to reduce drowning, especially for those deemed at increased risk. Stakeholders must prioritise holistic drowning prevention education strategies, ensuring all children can access swimming and water safety programs regardless of their socio-economic status or geographical location.

Culturally and linguistically diverse populations are generally overrepresented in the drowning statistics of high income countries. This paper reports on Asian immigrants' aquatic recreation and water safety in the aquatically-oriented Auckland region. A survey of new settlers (n = 570) was conducted at seven cultural festivities using a self-complete questionnaire that sought information on immigrants' current and previous aquatic recreation and their understanding of water safety. Almost half (43%) had never participated in aquatic recreation prior to coming to New Zealand, and most (72%) now did more aquatic recreation. Most participants (73%) estimated that they could swim less than 50m; one half (47%) had never been taught to swim and had never received water safety education (63%) or CPR training (65%). Given the continuing influx of new settlers in New Zealand, water safety programs that are sensitive to the needs of diverse peoples should be persisted with and focus on identified high-risk activities. Language: en

In 2015, drowning in Brazil was responsible for 6,043 deaths and was the second leading cause of death in children. Although several prevention strategies have been promoted to reduce drowning, most are still based on low levels of evidence. This study evaluated the effectiveness of prevention and water safety interventions in reducing drowning mortality. Data obtained from the National Mortality System for 36 years were split in two time periods to allow the comparison of drowning mortality numbers before and after implementation of SOBRASA’s drowning prevention and water safety programs and to check for any positive effects attributable to such programs. To assess differences between the two periods, a “drowning water safety score” (DSS) was estimated and compared to mortality/100,000 of population. There were 258,834 drowning deaths over 36 years. A significant decrease of 27% in drowning rates (5.2 to 3.8/100,000; p<0.05) was observed when comparing the pre and post-preventive interventions time periods. Males died 5.3 times more frequently than females, and mortality was higher in the 15-19-year age group (16.4%;4.7/100,000) than in other age groups. A linear dependent association was observed between prevention and water safety interventions and years affiliated to the national lifesaving organization (SOBRASA). A strong and significant association (OR=241.7; CI95% [9.0–64.84]) between DSS and drowning reduction was observed. The DSS is a fundamental measure for institutions/municipalities/states/countries to estimate the efforts needed to achieve their drowning reduction goals. From this study, a DSS above 100 (i.e.: 10 actions implemented over 10 years) was able to reduce drowning deaths by as much as 2.3% a year.

Public health planning tools and compliance: food and water.

Background: When control mechanisms such as water temperature and biocide level are insufficient, Legionella, the causative bacteria of Legionnaires’ disease, can proliferate in water distribution systems in buildings. Guidance and oversight bodies are increasingly prioritizing water safety programs in healthcare facilities to limit Legionella growth. However, ensuring optimal implementation in large buildings is challenging. Much is unknown, and sometimes assumed, about whether building and campus characteristics influence Legionella growth. We used an extensive real-world environmental Legionella data set in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare system to examine infrastructure characteristics and Legionella positivity. Methods: VHA medical facilities across the country perform quarterly potable water sampling of healthcare buildings for Legionella detection as part of a comprehensive water safety program. Results are reported to a standardized national database. We did an exploratory univariate analysis of facility-reported Legionella data from routine potable water samples taken in 2015 to 2018, in conjunction with infrastructure characteristics available in a separate national data set. This review examined the following characteristics: building height (number of floors), building age (reported construction year), and campus acreage. Results: The final data set included 201,936 water samples from 819 buildings. Buildings with 1–5 floors (n = 634) had a Legionella positivity rate of 5.3%, 6–10 floors (n = 104) had a rate of 6.4%, 11–15 floors (n = 36) had a rate of 8.1%, and 16–22 floors (n = 9) had a rate of 8.8%. All rates were significantly different from each other except 11–15 floors and 16–22 floors (P < .05, χ2). The oldest buildings (1800s) had significantly less (P < .05, χ2) Legionella positivity than those built between 1900 and 1939 and between 1940 and 1979, but they were no different than the newest buildings (Fig. 1). In newer buildings (1980–2019), all decades had buildings with Legionella positivity (Fig. 1 inset). Campus acreage varied from ~3 acres to almost 500 acres. Although significant differences were found in Legionella positivity for different campus sizes, there was no clear trend and campus acreage may not be a suitable proxy for the extent or complexity of water systems feeding buildings. Conclusions: The analysis of this large, real-world data set supports an assumption that taller buildings are more likely to be associated with Legionella detection, perhaps a result of more extensive piping. In contrast, the assumption that newer buildings are less associated with Legionella was not fully supported. These results demonstrate the variability in Legionella positivity in buildings, and they also provide evidence that can inform implementation of water safety programs.Funding: NoneDisclosures: Chetan Jinadatha, principal Investigator/Co-I: Research: NIH/NINR, AHRQ, NSF principal investigator: Research: Xenex Healthcare Services. Funds provided to institution. Inventor: Methods for organizing the disinfection of one or more items contaminated with biological agents. Owner: Department of Veterans Affairs. Licensed to Xenex Disinfection System, San Antonio, TX.

The dearth of information on the delivery of specific culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) programs presents a major limitation in the effort to prevent drowning, particularly when drowning rates of people from countries other than Australia are increasing. This study describes programs delivered by the aquatic industry for CALD communities in New South Wales (NSW), explores what CALD communities believe their water safety education needs are, and evaluates AUSTSWIM’s current training methods to ascertain which is most effective when training candidates from CALD communities. We found an absence of specialized aquatic programs being run at aquatic facilities for CALD communities. Barriers to participation included a lack of understanding of the cultural perceptions toward water safety and the different emphasis on the need for swimming skills and water safety education. The likelihood of AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety candidates’ having successful aquatic training outcomes increases with a combined learning approach that pairs meaningful practical applications with ongoing mentor support. Engagement of CALD communities’ using these kind of water safety programs will be essential if Australia wants to reduce the drowning burden.

Issue addressed: Two population groups identified as having a high risk of drowning in Australia are tourists and individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. The Chinese community in NSW was approached to trial a collaborative model that aimed to develop strategies to promote water safety among Chinese speakers. Methods: Five focus groups with 45 Chinese speakers and 50 intercept interviews at Sydney International Airport with Chinese-speaking tourists were conducted to identify current awareness, attitudes, and self-reported water safety-related behaviour among the Chinese community in NSW and among Chinese speakers visiting NSW. Results of the focus groups and intercept interviews were presented to a Chinese advisory group to assist with identification of appropriate water safety strategies for the Chinese community in NSW. Results: All of the focus group participants had undertaken some form of water-related activity, the most popular activities being swimming, boating/fishing and rock fishing. Around two-thirds of Chinese-speaking tourists had undertaken water-related activities while in Sydney/NSW and at least one-third had been swimming, paddling or surfing at a beach. Only one-third of Chinese-speaking tourists were aware of swimming between the red and yellow flags at the beach as a safety measure. Conclusions: The focus groups and intercept interviews were invaluable in obtaining information about awareness of water safety issues. The strategies suggested by members of the Chinese advisory group are to be implemented in partnership with the community and key water safety agencies in NSW. So what? It is likely that the collaborative model adopted could have opportunities to gain information and generate useful strategies to target other public health issues with other CALD communities. Key words: Water safety, CALD community, partnership.

ContextDrowning is a public health challenge worldwide; however, not everyone has access to prevention programs. In Australia, people from migrant backgrounds have been identified as being at greater risk for...

Tourism is a major economic and social activity of the present time. It is the temporary movement of people from their normal place of residence or work, mainly for pleasure. Due to the economic activities involved in the process of tourism, now it is emerged as an industry which is rapidly growing around the World. Tourism is the major source of foreign exchange earnings for many regions of the world. Tourism need to be addressed at the earliest as tourism has positive as well as negative impact on the cultural diversity, social standards, society and environment. The present study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between employment and income generation and tourist arrivals in district Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir state. The results revealed that tourist arrivals accounts variation in the level of income and employment generation. Thus, tourism development has the potential to contribute to the economy of Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir State.
 Tourism is a major economic and social activity of the present time. It is the temporary movement of people from their normal place of residence or work, mainly for pleasure. Due to the economic activities involved in the process of tourism, now it is emerged as an industry which is rapidly growing around the World. Tourism is the major source of foreign exchange earnings for many regions of the world. Tourism need to be addressed at the earliest as tourism has positive as well as negative impact on the cultural diversity, social standards, society and environment. The present study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between employment and income generation and tourist arrivals in district Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir state. The results revealed that tourist arrivals accounts variation in the level of income and employment generation. Thus, tourism development has the potential to contribute to the economy of Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir State.

Māori consider water to be the foundation of all life; it is a valued taonga gifted by our ancestors that provides sustenance and nourishment to communities and enhances hauora Māori (Royal, 2010). For generations, Māori have participated in water-related activities such as fishing, gathering kai, diving, waka and swimming (Karapu et al., 2007). It is through these activities in and around the water that hauora Māori can be enhanced. Despite this positive relationship with water, Water Safety New Zealand (2022) statistics demonstrate high drowning rates for Māori, with the 2021 drowning toll being the highest since 2001. In that year, Māori accounted for 31% of all drownings despite only comprising 17.4% of the population (Stats NZ, 2022; Water Safety New Zealand, 2022). Most of these drownings of Māori occurred while swimming (Water Safety New Zealand, 2022). With this in mind, this article will examine the significance of swimming on Māori engagement with water and therefore hauora Māori. This examination will be done using a whānau case study that was undertaken for the purpose of the lead author’s master’s research. In bringing together the key findings, a framework named Mukukai: Kaitiaki o Te Ao Kauhoe draws on five main values to describe how swimming can enhance hauora Māori. These values include kaitiakitanga, ūkaipōtanga, whakatinanatanga, whanaungatanga and whakapapa. The values are symbolised by elements of pepeha in the model to demonstrate the significance for Māori of swimming for connection to whakapapa and therefore its influence on hauora Māori.

Introduction‘Swim for Safety’ is a recently introduced survival swimming and water safety training programme for Sri Lanka. The programme was developed by Sri Lanka Life Saving and Life Saving Victoria,...