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Informing Policy on Open Water Drowning Prevention: An Observational Survey of Life Jacket Use in Washington State



Details

  • Personal Author:
  • Description:
    Objective: To assess life jacket use among Washington State boaters and to examine the relationship between life jacket use and boating laws. Methods: A statewide observational survey of boaters was conducted between August 2010 and September 2010. Data collection included age, sex, life jacket use, boat type, and weather and water conditions. Results: Among 5157 boaters, 30.7% wore life jackets. Life jacket use was highest among groups required by state law: personal watercraft users (96.8%), people being towed (eg, water-skiers) (95.3%) and children 0-12 years old (81.7%). Children and youth were more likely to use a life jacket if any adult in the boat wore a life jacket: 100% versus 87.2% for 0-5 years, 92.8% versus 76.7% for 6-12 years and 81.4% versus 36.1% for 13-17 years. Adult role modelling was particularly beneficial for adolescents aged 13-17 years, who were not covered by a life jacket law. In multivariable analysis, the presence of at least one adult wearing a life jacket was associated with a 20-fold increased likelihood that adolescents were also wearing a life jacket. Conclusions: Highest life jacket use was strongly associated with laws requiring use and with adult role modelling. Legislation requiring life jackets for ages 13-17 years and social marketing encouraging adult life jacket wear in the company of children and youth are promising strategies to increase life jacket use in Washington State. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  • Subjects:
  • Keywords:
  • ISSN:
    1353-8047
  • Document Type:
    Text
  • Funding:
    Grant
  • Genre:
    Journal Article
  • Place as Subject:
  • CIO:
    National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
  • Topic:
    Workplace Safety & Health
  • Location:
    North America
  • Pages in Document:
    238-243
  • Volume:
    20
  • Issue:
    4
  • NIOSHTIC Number:
    nn:20056181
  • Citation:
    Inj Prev 2014 Aug; 20(4):238-243
  • Contact Point Address:
    Dr Linda Quan, Department of Emergency Services, Seattle Children's Hospital, MB.7.520, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98145-5005, USA
  • Email:
    linda.quan@seattlechildrens.org
  • Federal Fiscal Year:
    2014
  • Performing Organization:
    University of Washington
  • Peer Reviewed:
    True
  • Start Date:
    20050701
  • Source Full Name:
    Injury Prevention
  • End Date:
    20250630
  • Collection(s):
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:124888db741e92c3d054b8c5b0fe6d8a98f16a154f18a2f87e5ed7d725d7031c809668dbad8a28cb0e40133e6dbc439132678aa3babd334cc37a80fa86115194
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 472.31 KB ]
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