Educating Children on Water Safety for Drowning Prevention

Drowning is accepted as one of the most leading causes of unintentional injuries and a leading unintentional cause of injury-related deaths in many countries as well as in Turkey. We conducted a water safety education programme among secondary school children aged between 10 and 14 years to test an active measure. Children were trained about seven subjects from American Red Cross Longfellow’s WHALE Tales program and on lifeline throw (LT). Pre- and post-tests were used to collect data which was used for statistical analyses. Results showed a significant increase in knowledge (32 %) and in LT (476.2 %) (p < 0.05). Among sub-groups’ of independent variables except “city” and “gender”, no significant differences were found. An active approach for drowning prevention was tested by this study and according to our findings; we conclude that such a water safety education programme can help increasing knowledge and safe lifesaving skills of children.