Towards a zero drowning toll for under fives

The bathmat project

Sue Campbell, National Child Safety Advisor

PLUNKET – who we are• New Zealand’s largest provider of support services for the

development, health and wellbeing of children under 5

• 92% of newborn infants are seen by Plunket

• Plunket nurses see babies and whanau in the home during baby’s first weeks of life, then in clinics as the baby grows older

• Injury prevention – helping families keep their children safe from injury is a big part of our work

The statistics tell the storyDrowning is a lead cause of death for children under 5 years of age

• Between 2004 – 2013:• 72 children under 5 years of age drowned

• 58% of these children drowned in the home environment• home pools (21) or • domestic setting (21), of which the majority were infants and toddlers in the bath

CHILD &YOUTH MORTALITY REVIEW COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS 2005

• All children under the age of three years should be constantly supervised in the bath by an adult

• Children under the age of 5 years should not be left to supervise younger children in the bath

• All home pools need to be fenced in regulation with the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987, with attention to ongoing compliance. Gates should never be propped open

• Adults need to closely supervise toddlers while they are near any body of water.

Tackling the drowning issue

Water Safety NZ and Plunket initiate discussion about the drowning toll and how to effectively combat this

•Consistent messaging and collaboration seen as key to education•Plunket delivery would provide most extensive coverage nationwide

•Discussion with Plunket staff and parents:bath mat considered to be most effective tool to convey the drowning prevention reminders consistently over a period of time

The bath mat project

Objective:

Reduce drownings in children under 5

by increasing awareness of the need

for constant, active supervision of babies

and young children in and around water

The bath mat project

•Provision of a bath mat

•Drowning prevention discussion

•Provision of reminder sticker

•Project posters displayed

•Annual evaluation

•Longevity of the project

Project deliveryMarch 2010 project delivery commences• Staff were provided with information and support for their

role in project delivery• Plunket areas ordered mats for dissemination to Plunket

nurses• Posters and stickers were provided to Plunket areas

The bath mat• “Always supervise children around

water….always” “Tiakina ngā tamariki ki te taha wai i ngā wā katoa”

• Bath mat provided to family at the 4th core Well Child check with the Plunket nurse

• Drowning prevention discussed• anticipatory guidance• within sight and reach at all times

The bath mat project• A poster was placed in• Plunket clinics and

Family Centres

Project evaluation

Key findings:

Increase in receipt of mat from 75% (year 1) - 85% (year 3)

70% recall of message (reasonably consistent)

Of those who recalled the message, ⅔ felt it made them

more aware of potential threat that water environments

pose to young children.

Project evaluation

Overall results show the project is an effective method of:

• raising awareness

•educating and reminding parents and caregivers of the

dangers of water to young children

•the need for supervision at all times.

Where to from here?While drownings of under 5’s in the home environment remain low, one drowning is one too many

Future involvement of additional providers in project delivery, particularly Maori who are over represented in the under 5 drowning statistics

Securing funding for future years, rather than on annual basis

A container of mats is on the water!