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Physical Activities in the Water Environment: Drowning, Prevention and Rescue

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 April 2023) | Viewed by 16676

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Dr. Arkadiusz Stanula

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Institute of Sport Science, Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, 40-065 Katowice, Poland
Interests: swimming; water rescue; physiological testing; sports training; analysis in sports
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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andrzej Ostrowski

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Department of Water Sports, University of Physical Education, 31-571 Kraków, Poland
Interests: water sports, sailing, diving, water rescue, innovation in sports

Dr. Andrzej Swinarew

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Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Silesia, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland
Interests: water sports; water rescue; biomedical engineering; biocybernetics; medical diagnostics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Around 320,000 deaths due to unintentional drowning are reported annually worldwide and is a 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide among people of all ages. The causes and circumstances of these accidents have different etiologies, many of them are the result of physical activity in the aquatic environment.

The popularity of water sports is growing steadily around the world. Millions of people do one or more recreational or competitive water sports, such as swimming, sailing, surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, canoeing, diving, etc. Certainly, such activities are associated with health benefits, especially during outdoor activities, but it must be emphasized that they are associated with a potential risk of drowning, due to both objective and subjective risk factors.

This Special Issue seeks research papers on drowning occurring during various types of water sports, focusing on risk factors and their disclosure, causes and circumstances of drowning, preventive actions, water rescue, as well as methods of documenting and processing statistical data related to drowning. We especially encourage the submission of interdisciplinary work and multi-country collaborative research. We welcome original research papers as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Dr. Arkadiusz Stanula
Dr. Andrzej Ostrowski
Dr. Andrzej Swinarew
Guest Editors

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Keywords

public health aspects of water sports activities
prevalence, risk factors, causes and circumstances of drowning during various types of water sports activities
drowning prevention
water rescue
water safety
drowning chain of survival
lifeguards
resuscitation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Individual Determinants as the Causes of Failure in Learning to Swim with the Example of 10-Year-Old Children

by Andrzej Ostrowski, Arkadiusz Stanula, Andrzej Swinarew, Alexander Skaliy, Dariusz Skalski, Wojciech Wiesner, Dorota Ambroży, Krzysztof Kaganek, Łukasz Rydzik and Tadeusz Ambroży

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5663; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095663 - 6 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2427

Abstract

Background: The purpose of the present study was to identify which, and to what extent, selected individual determinants of 10-year-old children may limit the final achievement in learning to swim. In view of the above, the research hypothesis was formulated that some children, despite regular attendance at swimming classes, do not achieve the learning outcomes set in the curriculum. The reason for this may be unfavorable (compared to their peers) morphological and functional characteristics, coordination motor abilities, and problems with fear of water. Methods: The study was conducted on a group of 271 students from the third grade of elementary schools who could not swim when they entered the physical education classes at the swimming pool and then participated in at least 25 swimming lessons during the school year. After these classes, the students performed swimming tests, and their somatic and functional characteristics and coordination motor abilities were measured. Results: In 46.1% of the participants, the final achievement level was lower than assumed in the school curriculum. The biggest problem for teachers and students in the initial teaching and learning to swim was the high fear of water, especially among girls. Furthermore, children characterized by lower body height and body weight, a lower sum of three skinfolds, and lower BMI had problems with progress in swimming. Despite the differences, these values did not correlate significantly with the final achievement level in swimming, except for body height in boys. Slower progress in swimming was also associated with lower vital capacity, whereas no relationship was found between final achievement level in swimming and trunk flexibility or foot mobility. However, significant correlations occurred for coordination motor abilities, as in almost all tests the participants characterized by the achievement level below the objectives set out in the curriculum performed significantly worse than children in the group with the achievement level meeting the objectives. Conclusions: In many cases, children who begin learning to swim from scratch make significant progress, but for many of them, the achievement levels are lower than the requirements set out in the school curriculum. The biggest problem for teachers and students in the initial teaching and learning to swim was the high fear of water, especially among girls. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activities in the Water Environment: Drowning, Prevention and Rescue)

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10 pages, 1334 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relationship between the Performance in a Maximum Effort Test for Lifeguards and the Time Spent in a Water Rescue

by Sergio López-García, Brais Ruibal-Lista, José Palacios-Aguilar, Miguel Santiago-Alonso and José Antonio Prieto

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(7), 3407; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073407 - 25 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2189

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between the performance in a maximum incremental test for lifeguards, the IPTL, and the effectiveness of a 200 m water rescue on the beach. Initially, 20 professional lifeguards carried out the IPTL in the pool and then they performed a 200 m water rescue on the beach. The maximum oxygen uptake (VO_2max) in the IPTL was estimated. In both tests, heart rate (HR), blood lactate (La) and time achieved were measured. The VO_2max estimated in the IPTL (VO_2IPTL) was 44.2 ± 4.7 mL·kg·min⁻¹, the time reached in the IPTL (Time_IPTL) was 726 ± 72 s and the time spent in the rescue (Time_Rescue) was 222 ± 14 s. The results showed that the time reached in the pool (Time_IPTL) was the best predictor variable of the performance in water rescue (Time_Rescue) (R² = 0.59; p < 0.01). A significant correlation was also observed between the estimated maximum oxygen uptake and the beach rescue performance (R² = 0.37; p = 0.05). These results reveal that the IPTL, a maximum incremental test specific to lifeguards, allows the estimation of the effectiveness of a 200 m rescue on the beach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activities in the Water Environment: Drowning, Prevention and Rescue)

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14 pages, 834 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Perceived Versus Real Swimming Skills of Adolescents under Standard and Challenging Conditions: Exploring Water Competencies as an Approach to Drowning Prevention

by Marek Rejman, Anna Kwaśna, Magdalena Chrobot, Per-Ludvik Kjendlie and Robert K Stalmann

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(11), 3826; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113826 - 28 May 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3592

Abstract

In this study, we compared adolescents’ actual (expert assessed) front crawl swimming skills to their self-assessment in two conditions: in standard swimming (wearing a swimsuit and goggles) and in a simulated risk scenario (swimming in plain clothes without goggles). We postulated that education focused on water competencies is fundamental in preventing drownings. Experts evaluated the skills of 21 female and 21 male adolescents in both standard and challenging conditions. All were low-skilled swimmers aged 14–15 years. Participants were asked to self-assess their skills before and after each trial. Boys and girls covered the same distance in both trials. Their self-assessment did not change regardless of the difficulty of the conditions. Girls assessed themselves more accurately than boys. However, boys who underestimated their skills showed greater ability to utilise the experience gained from performing the task for a more accurate self-assessment. In conclusion, adolescents should be educated in total water competencies, and not merely in swimming skills. For girls, “water readiness” is thought to broaden their ability to adapt their swimming skills to nonstandard conditions. Aquatic education for boys should focus on developing self-reflection in order to create a long-lasting responsibility using their own swimming skills. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activities in the Water Environment: Drowning, Prevention and Rescue)

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16 pages, 2391 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Learning to Swim: An Exploration of Negative Prior Aquatic Experiences Among Children

by Amy E. Peden and Richard C. Franklin

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(10), 3557; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103557 - 19 May 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7101

Abstract

Learning to swim via a structured program is an important skill to develop aquatic competencies and prevent drowning. Fear of water can produce phobic behaviors counterproductive to the learning process. No research examines the influence of negative aquatic experiences on learning to swim. This study explored the influence of children’s negative prior aquatic experiences (NPAE) on learn-to-swim achievement via swim school data. Children’s enrolment records (5–12 years) in the Australian Capital Territory were analyzed via demographics, level achieved and NPAE. NPAE was recorded as yes/no, with free text thematically coded to 16 categories. Of 14,012 records analyzed (51% female; 64% aged 6–8 years), 535 (4%) reported a NPAE at enrolment. Males, children with a medical condition and attending public schools were significantly more likely (p = 0.001) to report a NPAE. Children reporting a NPAE achieved a lower average skill level at each year of age. The largest proportion (19%) of NPAE reported related to swimming lessons. NPAE have a detrimental influence on aquatic skill achievement. We recommend increased adult supervision to reduce likelihood of an NPAE occurring, while also encouraging swim instructors to consider NPAE when teaching swimming and develop procedures to ensure a NPAE does not occur during instruction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activities in the Water Environment: Drowning, Prevention and Rescue)

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