Teaching Young Children Swim Survival Skills

NCT05977530 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: IRB-300011508
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study is designed to evaluate whether commercially-available swim self-rescue schools are effective to teach children ages 12-23 months to stay safely alive floating in the water (or grasping the pool's edge) without adult intervention. The investigators will measure children's water self-rescue skills at baseline and then they will engage in commercially-available training over the course of several weeks. The investigators will then measure their skills again. Assessments will be conducted using a standardized protocol with a certified lifeguard present. Parents will also complete a short survey concerning child and family demographics and child and family swim and lifeguard training experience.

Conditions

Drowning

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Children's Self-rescue Ability

  Assessment of whether children demonstrates ability to engage independently and safely in water, without adult assistance. This was measured through a standardized behavioral observation of children's behavior in a swimming pool. It was scored in a binary fashion as "yes" or "no", with each child in the study scored either "yes" or "no".

  at completion of training intervention program, an anticipated average of 4 weeks

Study Arms (1)

self-rescue training

EXPERIMENTAL

children will receive self-rescue training from a certified instructor

Behavioral: self-rescue training

Interventions

self-rescue training BEHAVIORAL

children will receive training for self-rescue if they are alone in water

self-rescue training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Months - 23 Months
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• child ages 12-23 months
• enrolled in self-rescue course at participating swim facility

You may not qualify if:

• medical conditions counter-indicating training in water
• previous experience in self-rescue swim courses

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Alabama at Birmingham: lead

Study Sites (1)

UAB Youth Safety Lab, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Schwebel DC, Johnston A. Toddler drowning prevention through self-rescue: can 1-year-old children learn to float? Inj Prev. 2025 Nov 11:ip-2025-045688. doi: 10.1136/ip-2025-045688. Online ahead of print.

  PMID: 41219144 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Drowning

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Death; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Wounds and Injuries

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. David Schwebel
• Organization: University of Alabama at Birmingham

schwebel@uab.edu

205-934-8745

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: University Professor of Psychology & Associate Vice President for Research Facilities & Infrastructure

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 18, 2023
• First Posted: August 4, 2023
• Study Start: September 16, 2024
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2024
• Study Completion: November 23, 2024
• Last Updated: February 28, 2025
• Results First Posted: February 28, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Data will become available after all primary results are published. They will remain available for at least 3 years.
• Access Criteria: Contact Study PI David Schwebel.

Locations

US (1)