‘Anyone Can Drown, No One Should’: A Community-Based, Youth-Centered Model for Drowning Prevention in Uganda
Alyssa Ponrartana*, Kyra Guy, Nicole Tang, Anna Woo, Edward Chau, Heather Wipfli
*Presenting author
BACKGROUND
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Drowning is the third leading cause of death from unintentional injury worldwide, with youth in sub-Saharan Africa facing a disproportionate burden.
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To address this gap, in partnership with local non-profit organizations, the Global Research, Implementation, and Training (GRIT) Lab trains 100s of youth in water safety, drowning prevention, first aid and emergency rescue, and water polo through an annual summer camp hosted in Kampala, Uganda.
OBJECTIVES:
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Understand water environments and identify hazards to determine if a place is safe to swim in
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Determine what communities can do to prevent drowning deaths and learn to share water safety knowledge with family or friends
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Become comfortable learning how to float and be in water without fear
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Distinguish the signs of someone drowning and practice water rescue, first aid, and CPR
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Learn the fundamentals of water polo and practice working together as a team in the pool
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
1.Camp Participants: Camp participants are youth aged 9-15 attending school in communities around Lake Victoria in the vicinity of Mukono, Uganda. 100 youth are recruited to participate each camp. All campers receive a camp workbook, t-shirt, a bathing suit, a towel, flip-flops, water bottle, sunglasses, and a drawstring backpack.
2. Camp Staff: Camp staff is composed of both Ugandan and American volunteers consisting of university students and NGO members. The volunteers work closely together in delivering the camp curriculum.
3. Interactive Workshops: Youth rotate through 8 interactive workshop stations daily filling out a detailed workbook guiding them on the curriculum. Workshop topics include the following: Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Community Drowning Prevention Strategies, CPR and First Aid, Mental Health, Teamwork and Gender Equity, Learn-to-Swim, and both Dry Land and Pool Water Polo.
4.Program Evaluation: Pre- and post-camp assessments are administered to youth to identify prior knowledge and understanding of drowning prevention and evaluate knowledge gained after participation in camp workshops.
Program Partners
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Ugandan Ministries of Health, Water, and Transport
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The Ugandan Swimming Federation
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Swim Safe Uganda (SSU)
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Uganda Scouts Association
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Reach A Hand Uganda
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Energy In Action (EIA)
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University of Southern California
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Makerere University
Figure 1. Workshops often include teams of campers learning about public-health related topics, such as nutrition, diseases, and drowning prevention
PROGRAM OUTCOMES
CONCLUSIONS
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Further research and capacity-building are necessary to empower local youth with water safety knowledge, survival skills, and resources.
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Splash Safe Camp provides a model for future community-based and youth-centered public health programs, especially those related to drowning and water safety.
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Further program evaluation and data analysis are required to fully assess the efficacy of Splash Safe Camp and similar interventions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge Energy in Action (EIA) staff members and Makerere University students, including Emmanuel Balinda, Cecilia Alonyo, Abdul Wagwa, Yesigomwe Kennedy, Amperize Mathias, Muvunyi Joseph, and Edward Mukuye, as well as the Swim Safe Uganda (SSU) staff, including Mathius Kabuubi, for their contributions to the data collection process. Finally, the authors would like to thank public health students from the Global Research, Implementation, and Training Lab (USC GRIT Lab) at the University of Southern California.