Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public?
Introduction: Drowning is a global problem. This so-called “silent killer” claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year around the world. Despite this, beaches are a fundamental space in the lives of many people throughout the world. The scant knowledge regarding aspects of safety, accident prev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023053124 |
| _version_ | 1797771420297592832 |
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| author | Pelayo Diez-Fernández Brais Ruibal-Lista Fernando Lobato-Alejano Sergio López-García |
| author_facet | Pelayo Diez-Fernández Brais Ruibal-Lista Fernando Lobato-Alejano Sergio López-García |
| author_sort | Pelayo Diez-Fernández |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Drowning is a global problem. This so-called “silent killer” claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year around the world. Despite this, beaches are a fundamental space in the lives of many people throughout the world. The scant knowledge regarding aspects of safety, accident prevention and the identification of risks in these natural aquatic environments, all contribute to the number of aquatic accidents that happen. The objective of this study was to establish the reality about the Spain population's knowledge of risks on the beaches. Methods: A study was carried out using a questionnaire, generated through Google Forms©. The questionnaire was available for 7 days, from May 12 to 19, 2022. 289 responses were selected. The Chi-square statistic was used to analyze the associations while Cramér's V statistics and the Odds Ratio were applied to analyze their strength. The significance level was p < 0.05 for the entire study. Results: 50.5% of the participants knew how to correctly identify a rip current. In terms of definition, identification and response to a current, those who were lifeguards were more likely than the general population to answer correctly. Conclusions: Sex, age or place of residence do not seem to explain knowledge about rip currents in an active population group. Finally, as a factor in avoiding possible accidents related to currents, the importance of having professional lifeguards in natural aquatic environments is confirmed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:37:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3facbb2ce09541d3902573b0cf4d3568 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:37:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-3facbb2ce09541d3902573b0cf4d35682023-07-27T05:58:33ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-07-0197e18104Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public?Pelayo Diez-Fernández0Brais Ruibal-Lista1Fernando Lobato-Alejano2Sergio López-García3Facultad de Educación. Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Spain; Grupo de Investigación en Actividad Física y Salud (GIADES), Departamento de Educación. Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, SpainGrupo de Investigación en Actividad Física y Salud (GIADES), Departamento de Educación. Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Spain; EUM Fray Luis de León. Universidad Católica de Ávila, Spain; Corresponding author. EUM Fray Luis de León. Universidad Católica de Ávila C/ Tirso de Molina, 44, 47010, Valladolid, Spain.Facultad de Informática. Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, SpainFacultad de Educación. Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, Spain; Grupo de Investigación en Actividad Física y Salud (GIADES), Departamento de Educación. Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, SpainIntroduction: Drowning is a global problem. This so-called “silent killer” claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year around the world. Despite this, beaches are a fundamental space in the lives of many people throughout the world. The scant knowledge regarding aspects of safety, accident prevention and the identification of risks in these natural aquatic environments, all contribute to the number of aquatic accidents that happen. The objective of this study was to establish the reality about the Spain population's knowledge of risks on the beaches. Methods: A study was carried out using a questionnaire, generated through Google Forms©. The questionnaire was available for 7 days, from May 12 to 19, 2022. 289 responses were selected. The Chi-square statistic was used to analyze the associations while Cramér's V statistics and the Odds Ratio were applied to analyze their strength. The significance level was p < 0.05 for the entire study. Results: 50.5% of the participants knew how to correctly identify a rip current. In terms of definition, identification and response to a current, those who were lifeguards were more likely than the general population to answer correctly. Conclusions: Sex, age or place of residence do not seem to explain knowledge about rip currents in an active population group. Finally, as a factor in avoiding possible accidents related to currents, the importance of having professional lifeguards in natural aquatic environments is confirmed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023053124Rip currentsEducationAquatic safetyBeaches |
| spellingShingle | Pelayo Diez-Fernández Brais Ruibal-Lista Fernando Lobato-Alejano Sergio López-García Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public? Heliyon Rip currents Education Aquatic safety Beaches |
| title | Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public? |
| title_full | Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public? |
| title_fullStr | Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public? |
| title_short | Rip current knowledge: do people really know its danger? do lifeguards know more than the general public? |
| title_sort | rip current knowledge do people really know its danger do lifeguards know more than the general public |
| topic | Rip currents Education Aquatic safety Beaches |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023053124 |
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