TY - JOUR
PY - 2005//
TI - Usual water-related behaviour and 'near-drowning' incidents in young adults
JO - Australian and New Zealand journal of public health
A1 - Begg, Dorothy Jean
A1 - Gulliver, Pauline J.
SP - 238
EP - 243
VL - 29
IS - 3
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To describe usual water-related behaviour and 'near-drowning' incidents in a cohort of young New Zealand adults. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study based on data collected as part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which is the study of a cohort (n = 1,037) born between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand. The data analysed were collected at age 21 (1993/94). Each study member was given a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Males reported a higher level of water confidence, exposure to risk behaviours, and exposure to unsafe locations, and more 'near-drowning' incidents, than the females, but protective behaviour did not differ. Males and females who were 'confident' in the water were more likely to be exposed to unsafe water locations, and water-confident males were more likely to drink alcohol before water activities, but not boating. A total of 169 'near-drowning' incidents were reported by 141 study members (63% males). 'Near-drowning' incidents were associated with unsafe swimming environments for males (p < 0.001) and boating within two hours of consuming alcohol for females (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: This study described usual water-related behaviour and has provided preliminary evidence of the factors associated with 'near-drowning' incidents among a high-risk age group. Larger case-control studies are required to further investigate risk factors for 'near-drowning'. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS: Further investigation is required to determine the effectiveness of providing water skills acquisition in both safe and unsafe environments on 'near-drowning' experience. Language: en
LA - en
SN - 1326-0200
UR - http://dx.doi.org/
ID - ref1
ER -