Barriers to Life Jacket Use Among Adult Recreational Boaters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bennett EE ; Ebel BE ; Mueller BA ; Quan L ; Quistberg DA
• Description:
  Objective: To identify barriers to life jacket use. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting Nine public boat ramps in western Washington State, USA, August-November, 2008. Participants: 675 adult boaters (>18 years) on motor boats <26 feet long. Main outcome: Low or no life jacket use (0-50% of time) versus high life jacket use (51-100% of time). Results: Low/no life jacket use (0-50% of time) was associated with longer boat length (per foot, risk ratio [RR] 1.03, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.05), alcohol use (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.20), perception of life jackets as 'uncomfortable' (RR 1.29, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.52), perceived greater level of swimming ability (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.53 for 'expert swimmer') and possibly with lack of confidence that a life jacket may save one from drowning (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.32). Low life jacket use was less likely when an inflatable life jacket was the primary life jacket used by a subject (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.94), a child was onboard (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.99) or if the respondent had taken a boating safety class (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.01). Conclusions: Life jacket use may increase with more comfortable devices, such as inflatable life jackets, and with increased awareness of their efficacy in preventing drowning. Boater education classes may be associated with increased life jacket use among adults. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Drowning Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Cross Sectional Studies Life Jackets Personal Flotation Device PFD Protective Equipment Risk Factors
• ISSN:
  1353-8047
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  244-250
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057132
• Citation:
  Inj Prev 2014 Aug; 20(4):244-250
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr D Alex Quistberg, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, 325 Ninth Ave, Box 359660, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA
• Email:
  aquistbe@uw.edu
• 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):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0fddfa7b31fec85806b661a61e78eb2152c8b198d9a5aa8170e4d84344197acb9b642ab006abb7f1fdb425357980e8f7ed3d7c0dc315ec85c5fad01ba10d1685
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214576/cdc_214576_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 195.64 KB ]