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Issue Addressed: Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death in children worldwide. There is limited evidence about the effectiveness of programs targeting child drowning prevention at public swimming pools. We examined the effectiveness of a public education program (Keep Watch @ Public Pools) for improving child supervision levels by parents at public swimming pools.Methods: The program was evaluated via an observational study of parent supervision behaviour with children aged 0-14 years. Measures included domains of attention, proximity and preparedness. A rating scale from 0 = least effective to 4 = most effective was used, based upon the supervision domains. Seven public swimming pools in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia were randomised to either intervention or control pool. The intervention occurred over six weeks, and observations were taken over a one-week period both pre- and postintervention. Observations of a total of 10 186 children and 6930 parents/carers were recorded and analysed.Results: A significant improvement in attention, proximity and preparedness was observed in parents of children aged 6-10 years at intervention pools. However, similar results were not observed in parents of children aged 0-5 years and 11-14 years.Conclusions: Supervision behaviour of parents can be modified, and the implications of these results for the community through to practice and policy are discussed. SO WHAT?: Targeted public education programs provide an effective way of improving parental supervision of children at public swimming pools. Such education programs should be widely implemented throughout public swimming pools, as one part of a comprehensive approach to drowning prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This population-based retrospective case series study examined the frequency and distribution of protective stratagems (legislatively compliant safety barrier, adequate caregiver supervision, water familiarisation and early administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR]) amongst drowning deaths of young children (0-4 years) in private swimming pools or spas in Victoria, Australia. In 65.0% (52/80) of deaths, none of the four protective stratagems were known to be present and there was only one case where all four were known to be present. This indicates that if the presence of all four stratagems is increased, this may reduce drowning in this age group and setting. While these results are positive, further examination of the presence and interaction of these stratagems for effectiveness is required. Further research is also warranted to explore the impact of enforcement of pool fencing legislation and potential associations between water familiarisation and drowning risk. In addition, a consensus on the definition of adequate supervision in needed.