Acceptability and Feasibility of a Water Safety Intervention for Adolescents Aged 14-19 Years

Abstract

This study examined the preliminary efficacy, acceptability, and cost of an adolescent water safety and drowning prevention intervention using a pre-experimental one-group pre-test post-test design. The sample included 26 students and one teacher at Boulder Creek High School, and 27 firefighters from Daisy Mountain Fire Department. The students were provided with pre- and post-surveys before and after a 20-minute water safety intervention video to evaluate efficacy of increased water safety knowledge. Firefighters and the teacher were provided post-intervention surveys to assess acceptability. Cost was calculated at the end of data collection. The findings showed that exposure to targeted water safety intervention tested in this study did not change students’ knowledge about water safety. More specifically, the findings suggested there was much more to be discovered about what truly changes water safety beliefs for adolescents. There were positive perceptions of the feasibility, acceptability, and ease of use of an adolescent water safety program by the teacher and fire department.