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Table of Contents

About

Forward

Introduction

Key drowning facts

Drowning statistics 2016-2021

Strategy Framework

Priorities

Action levels

CA-WSS Priorities

Using the CA-WSS

Priority 1: Public significance

Priority 2: Data

Priority 3: Everyone a swimmer

Priority 4: Safe at all ages

Priority 5: Pools

Priority 6: Open water

Priority 7 Lifeguards

Priority 8: Water Emergency

Preparedness

Next steps

Acknowledgements

References

Water Safety Strategy

Core Values

The four core values that affect all work done in this strategy are

Equity

Collaboration

Evidence & Evaluation

Local Context

Explanation:

These core values are driving principles that need to be considered within each priority area and at every action level. They are interdependent and informed by one another. For example, collaboration will be informed by equity principles, research and evaluation, and local context.

Equity

The legacy of historical segregation at public pools10, (11) and open water swimming areas, including beaches in California, (12) has resulted in constraints on minority swimming participation (13) and persistent disparities in drowning rates. (14) To address these gaps, the Key Action Areas in each priority should be examined with careful consideration for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. An equity lens requires communities to understand what is and what is not available for whom.

Examples of equity-informed questions include:

• Do policies, programs, and/or professional training opportunities differ by age group, race/ethnicity, gender, disability status, LBGBTQ+ identify, socioeconomic status, or location of intended participants?

• Are certain groups excluded from access to available current state information, ideas and programs? Have certain groups been historically excluded in the past?

• Can existing data be used to report on different groups of people to understand different experiences of drowning throughout the state?

• What policies are in place? Whom do they impact and who do they leave out?

• How can the water safety professions, including lifeguards and swim instructors, diversify and open employment pathways to people from a variety of backgrounds and communities?

Understanding more about the who, what, where and when of drowning incidents will raise additional questions about equity and access. Drowning prevention researchers and practitioners in California and across the United States are engaged in meaningful work to understand and address disparities in drowning burden and access to swim lessons and other services. (15), (16) Their lessons can guide action that is inclusive and equitable.

Examples of equity-informed activities include:

• Ensuring that the make-up of drowning prevention coalitions and organizations reflects the communities they serve.

• Learning about the concerns and experiences of high risk groups within a community, for example:

  –  Interviews or focus groups with different community members to help provide context and understanding

  –  Including community members in the design and implementation of a drowning prevention program to improve impact

  –  Identifying and addressing barriers to employment in the aquatics industry or rescue services

• Organizing, attending, and participating in workforce training or other development opportunities focused on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Collaboration

Drowning is a complex problem, and no single solution or technical approach will be able to fully address the issue. Making progress towards reducing the rate and burden of drowning requires different perspectives to diagnose the issue and determine what effective action looks like. A collaborative approach is well suited for the challenge. Learning from and partnering with different stakeholders allows for alignment of activities, reinforced programming and education messages, and increased public profile with a collective voice. Ultimately, collaborative efforts like this have shown to be effective in reducing drowning rates in other countries. For example, in Australia, the National Water Safety Council composed of several different drowning prevention organizations has aligned stakeholders to a national strategy, which reduced the nation’s fatal drowning rate by nearly 30%. (17)

Drowning prevention involves a range of actors that approach the problem with diverse perspectives, skill sets, methods, and motivations - a feature and strength of collaborative action. In California, water safety leadership and advocacy has come from those with backgrounds in public health and injury prevention, medicine and healthcare, lifeguarding and rescue, parks and recreation, the pool and water sports industry, and swim instruction.

Additionally, significant motivation and progress has been inspired and driven by community and family organizations founded in honor of a person who drowned. The commitment and contribution to drowning prevention in California from these families and organizations cannot be overstated; they have had and will continue to have a fundamental role in reducing the burden of drowning.

Drowning prevention also involves a series of less- traditional stakeholders. Urban planners, engineers, realtors, architects, short term rental owners and others all have an important role to play in drowning prevention. Some may be unaware that their jobs or areas of focus even have a connection to water safety, and their activities could be saving lives or placing others at risk.

Additional subject matter areas with important connections to drowning prevention have been noted in the literature including adolescent health, alcohol and substance abuse, child mortality, disaster risk reduction, environmental health, occupational health, urban health, water sanitation and hygiene, and refugee and migrant safety. Stakeholders from these areas would also be important collaborators. (18)

Improving collaborative systems that invite and incorporate everyone with a nexus to drowning prevention, including less-traditional stakeholders, is vital for success.

Evidence & Evaluation

Drowning prevention and water safety require evidence to guide action, and evaluation to ensure what we are doing is making a difference. Evidence and evaluation as a core value that cuts across all parts of this strategy allows for improved programs, policies, and systems, ultimately preventing injury and death. Each CA- WSS Priority outlines Key Data Activities with calls for improved metrics, dedicated research, or specific evaluation that will enhance prevention efforts.

While improving valid, timely, and reliable data on the burden and risk factors is the goal of Priority 2, building capacity for monitoring and evaluation is an important objective for all stakeholders working in drowning prevention. Generating evidence to support decision- making, policy solutions, and training opportunities will further enhance impact.

Example evidence and evaluation activities that can help inform improvements include:

• Conduct an inventory of currently available and/or routinely collected program or operations data to help guide advances in evaluation capability. What can you learn from this information? What data would help answer the questions you want to ask?

• Assesswhomyourprogramoroperationserves.Does your program reflect your community's needs?

• Identify what components of your operation or program are evidence-based, evidence-informed, or have data that demonstrate effectiveness. Where are the evidence gaps? What does advancing knowledge in this area look like?

• Share the data and information that you do have; others may be able to learn from your work.

Local Context

California is a large state with residents from a wide variety of cultures, geographies, and socio-economic realities. The state also has a robust tourism industry that attracts a diverse array of visitors throughout the year. Additionally, each county and region has changing population needs over time. Each region of the state has its own considerations for drowning prevention which is why local context is called out as an important core value upholding drowning prevention work. Including local context means thinking through questions such as:

- What do people who live here value?

- What do people who live here already know about water safety? What do they want to know?

- What sort of services or programs are available in our community? What is missing?

- What water environments exist for residents and tourists in our area?

- What are popular times of year for tourists?

- What types of water activities do residents and tourists engage in?

- What disparities exist in our area?

- Who are trusted, local leaders in this community?

- How do people in this community like to receive information? Radio? Social media? Print?

Many local areas in the state already have water safety coalitions, task forces, or other groups organized around drowning prevention and/or water safety. Connecting with these county/regional groups is a helpful way for drowning prevention stakeholders and community members to engage with local water safety issues.

In those areas without established multisectoral local water safety entities, developing such groups to address drowning and water safety, and cultivate community- level collaborative action is an important next step.