Water Watcher Armband - Keeping Kids Safe
The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Abstract
Drowning is a leading cause of death among children aged five years or less. Through the development of a Water Watcher Armband, Kids Health at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW) aims to highlight the importance of adult supervision in preventing drowning incidents among children aged five years or less. The project is in line with the NSW Health Strategic Direction ‘Make prevention everyone’s business’ and ensures that at least one adult is watching children at all times during social gatherings in and around water.
Approximately 14,500 armbands were produced and distributed to families in New South Wales, over the summers of 2005 and 2006. The results from an evaluation suggested that the project was well received and considered a success.
This project was entered in the 2007 NSW Health Awards, Making Prevention Everybody's Business category.
The full entry document can be downloaded in the formats listed below:
- Water Watcher Armband - Keeping Kids Safe (
Word - 519 KB) - Water Watcher Armband - Keeping Kids Safe (
pdf - 134 KB)
Download the Presentation ( pdf - 486KB) from the 2007 NSW Health Expo
Due to the success of the Water Watcher Armband project in 2005-2006, the CHW decided to relaunch the project in 2009 after securing funding for the production of a further 15,000 armbands. The CHW worked with two local councils to distribute the armbands to all residences that have swimming pools identified on the Council pool register, thereby reaching the intended target group of swimming pool owners.
The local councils provided the CHW with all addresses currently on their pool register so all owners/occupiers of the residence could be sent an armband, a cover letter, a reply paid envelope and a survey on a separate piece of paper to ensure confidentiality when it is sent back.
The survey not only asked questions regarding the usefulness of the armband, but also regarding other important aspects of drowning prevention including water familiarisation, CPR and pool fencing; which could influence future drowning prevention strategies, particularly the way in which Local Council's support pool safety. The evaluation of the project is currently being completed through analysis of returned surveys.
Information on this program is also available on the Children's Hospital at Westmead's Water Watcher Armband web-page.
Contact
Health Promotion Officer, Kids Health
The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Phone: 02 9845 3564
www.chw.edu.au
