Education Commons^™

Eyes Save Lives Water Safety Program For Parents And Caregivers: Program Design And Pilot Evaluation From Southern California, Rachel Love-Smith, William A. Koon, Lauren Tabios, Scott M. Bartell

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Despite expert consensus and evidence-based preventative strategies against drowning, limited formal study exists on translating recommendations into practical and effective interventions. This paper describes the design of an education-based drowning prevention intervention and reports results from a pilot evaluation of the program’s effect on self-reported water-safe behaviors, attitudes, self-efficacy, and knowledge. Parents and caregivers attending children’s swim lessons in July and August 2018 participated in a brief water-safety education program. A pre-post-test design evaluated "Theory of Planned Behavior" indicators to assess for changes. We found significant increases in scores related to water safety knowledge, attitudes on maintaining arms reach distance …

Water Safety Education Programs In Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Seattle Communities: Program Design And Pilot Evaluation, William A. Koon, Elizabeth Bennett, Sarah Stempski, Jennifer Blitvich

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning is a public health concern that disproportionally affects children and minorities in Washington State. Community health educators from Seattle Children’s Hospital designed a Water Safety Education and Lifejacket Giveaway Program for low-income parents of preschool-aged children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The program was interpreted into multiple languages and parents and children in attendance received free lifejackets. The mixed-methods pilot evaluation of this program found statistically significant relationships between language and self-reported parent swim skill level (English-speaker OR 4.6; 95%CI: 1.84 – 11.54); and confidence of keeping one’s child safe (English-speaker OR 3.34; 95%CI: 1.10 – 10.4). Additionally, …

Kids Don’T Float…And Their Parents Don’T Either: Using A Family-Centered Approach In Alaska’S Kids Don’T Float Program, Michelle E. E. Bauer, Audrey R. Giles, Justina Marianayagam, Kelli M. Toth

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The goal of this experiential report is to outline the adoption of a family-centered Kids Don’t Float approach. We conducted a critical synthesis of information to reflect the expansion of the Kids Don’t Float program into a more family-centered approach. The critical synthesis provided insights into why we should adopt this approach, how it was implemented, and how it influenced drowning incidents compared to the previously used child-centered approach. The adoption of a family-centered approach may contribute to reducing drowning incidents by targeting parents, providing safety information to families, and promoting parental modelling of life jackets. Program evaluators and water …

Alcohol_Focused Drowning Prevention Campaigns: What Do We Know And What Should We Do Now?, Hannah Calverley, Lauren Petrass, Jennifer Blitvich

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Alcohol and drugs have been identified as key risk factors for youth (aged 15-24 years) and adult drownings in high-income countries (HIC). Whilst alcohol specific drowning prevention education programs have been developed and implemented, youth continue to be over-represented in drowning statistics, including those linked with alcohol. Therefore, this project aimed to: (i) review and assess all alcohol themed drowning prevention campaigns within HICs; (ii) determine whether the campaign had undergone evaluation for effectiveness; and (iii) provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness of future interventions. For each of the eighty-one HICs identified for the 2019 fiscal year, searches of peer-reviewed …

Urban Biodiversity Experience And Exposure: Intervention And Inequality At The Local And Global Scale, Evan Kuras

Masters Theses

As cities expand globally, researchers must clarify how human activities and institutions shape biodiversity and conversely, how ecological processes shape human outcomes. Two features of contemporary cities motivate this thesis. First, urban residents, and especially children, are spending less time in nature and consequently, miss out on healthy and formative experiences with biodiversity. Second, residents with the least access to biodiversity tend to be those with the lowest socioeconomic status (SES). Together, these patterns convey a multi-layered environmental injustice: not only might urbanites become increasingly estranged from biodiversity, disinterested from its conservation, and disconnected from its benefits, but these outcomes …

Improving The Physical Activity And Outdoor Play Environment Of Family Child Care Homes In Nebraska Through Go Nutrition And Physical Activity Self-Assessment For Child Care, Danae Dinkel, Dipti Dev, Yage Guo, Emily Hulse, Zainab Rida, Ami Sedani, Brian Coyle

Health and Kinesiology Faculty Publications

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine if the Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment in Child Care (Go NAP SACC) intervention was effective in improving best practices in the areas of infant and child physical activity and outdoor play and learning in family child care homes (FCCHs) in Nebraska. Methods: FCCHs (n = 201) participated in a pre–post evaluation using the Infant and Child Physical Activity and Outdoor Play and Learning assessments from the Go NAP SACC validated measure to assess compliance with best practices. Results: At post, FCCHs demonstrated significant differences in 85% …

Assessment Of The Arkansas Horse 4-H Program: Perspectives From Multiple Stakeholders, Fawn Lee Kurtzo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assessment of the Arkansas horse 4-H program utilized stakeholders’ perceptions to describe inputs, outcomes, preferences and impacts provided by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Stakeholders’ perceptions were captured through three studies. Studies included the following: a pre- and post-test evaluation of the 2016 summer horse camp, purposive interviews with county agents (n = 6), volunteer leaders (n = 4), and parents (n = 4) of horse 4-H clubs, and a statewide survey provided to Extension staff (n =26) and volunteer leaders (n = 28) affiliated with horse 4-H clubs.

The 2016 summer camp evaluation found the goals to improve horsemanship, …

An Evaluation And Exploration Of Nutrition Education In Elementary Schools, Elisha M. Hall

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Childhood obesity is a significant problem in the United States. Obese children suffer from a variety of physical, emotional, and social consequences. To curb or reduce this problem, school-based nutrition education interventions have become more common. However, little research has been conducted concerning nutrition-related socioeconomic disparities in behavior change constructs for low and high income children, which is integral to forming appropriate theory-based interventions and allocating resources appropriately. Research into classroom teachers’ perspectives is also an area in need of strengthening to better inform interventions. Finally, the School Enrichment Kit Program (SEKP), a current interactive, classroom-based, nutrition and physical activity …