- Title
- Respecting alcohol, respecting the water : young adult perspectives on how to reduce alcohol-influenced drownings in Australia
- Creator
- Calverley, Hannah; Petrass, Lauren; Blitvich, Jennifer
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/179088
- Identifier
- vital:15495
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.449
- Identifier
- ISBN:1036-1073 (ISSN)
- Abstract
- Issue addressed: Alcohol-influenced drowning among young Australians (aged 18-24 years) is a prominent health concern. However, effectiveness of targeted prevention campaigns for this age group is unknown, as this information is not typically published in peer-reviewed or easily accessed grey literature. Accordingly, future campaigns cannot build on prior efforts to address this health problem. Methods: Semi-structured interviews ascertained young Australian adults’ perspectives on preventing alcohol consumption in aquatic settings, and their awareness of appropriate safety strategies and Australian national and state drowning prevention campaigns. Discussions were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed using an interpretative phenomenological approach. Results: Twenty-three individuals (mean age 20.65 years) participated in an interview. Participants had poor understanding of alcohol-focused drowning prevention campaigns and used logos and names to decipher key campaign messages. Education was recommended as the preferred method for prevention, and participants suggested preferences for delivery (eg social media, in schools, humour and shock tactics). The safety strategies discussed appeared to be transferred from strategies used in other contexts, rather than related to the specific risks of aquatic scenarios. Conclusions: Drowning prevention practitioners should ensure transparency and clarity of their campaign names and logos to enhance understanding of the messages. Practitioners should also consider using audience analysis during campaign design, delivery and evaluation, alongside best practice recommendations from literature, to enhance campaign suitability and effectiveness. So what?: Water safety practitioners and policy makers should acknowledge these findings when developing campaigns which address young adults’ lack of awareness of safe aquatic behaviours to encourage a sustained behaviour change. © 2020 Australian Health Promotion Association.
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons Inc
- Relation
- Health Promotion Journal of Australia Vol. 32, no. S2 (2021), p. 218-228
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- Copyright @ 2020 Australian Health Promotion Association
- Subject
- 1117 Public Health and Health Services; Alcohol consumption; Drowning prevention; Health education; Qualitative research; Young adults
- Reviewed
- Funder
- This research received full ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee at Federation University Australia, project approval number B19-027.
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