Building a global platform to reduce drowning Program and Proceedings Presented by Supported by Country Partner Government of Vietnam Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs 50 countries. 400 delegates. All committed to creating a world free from drowning preSented by country partnerS Government of Vietnam Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs MAJOR SPONSOR Silver SponSor ScholarShip SupporterS Ausstraliatralia -- Mallaysiaaysia InInsstitutetitute Stream SponSor Maatschappij tot Redding van THE ROYAL LIFE SAVING SOCIETY Drenkelingen A Commonwealth Organisation vietnam ScholarShip partnerS Cooper Foundation 2 WorLd ConferenCe on droWnInG PreVentIon 2011 contents forward 4 abstraCts Background 10 Conference drowning Prevention Partners 12 027 Committees 16 Ambassadors 18 developing Countries Scholarship fund 20 INDex Child drowning epidemic & the danang declaration 22 349 Program aND abstraCts Program and Proceedings – Production Program Snapshot 24 editors Justin scarr (Convener) – Chief operating abstraCts officer, royal Life Saving Society – Australia; ILS drowning Prevention Keynote Addresses 27 Commission; development Coordinator, ILS Asia-Pacific Vietnam in focus 37 drowning in Low and Middle Income Countries 45 monique sharp (Conference Secretariat/ organiser) – national Manager, drowning research 91 Marketing and events, royal Life Saving Society - Australia Child drowning 121 matthew smeal (Media and emergency response and Medical Issues 139 Communications) – Communications Manager, International Programs, royal Advances in Lifesaving 163 Life Saving Society – Australia Swimming and Water Safety 201 helen Khoudair (event Support) – Partnerships and Programs 255 Marketing and events officer, royal Life Saving Society – Australia Activities and occupations 297 Design disasters and Climate Change 315 Jimmy too - the Creative Aid www.jimmytoo.com.au Lifesaving Sport and development 329 tradeshow/exhibitors 343 INDex oF abstraCts by author/s 349 Contacts BuILdInG A GLoBAL PLAtforM to reduCe droWnInG 3 international life saving Federation on behalf of the International Life Saving federation Board of directors, I would like to thank you for participating in the World Conference on drowning Prevention 2011. this is your world and our family for drowning prevention, lifesaving and lifesaving sport. our drowning prevention effort needs all of the world’s drowning prevention experts, collaborative partners and civil authorities to provide collective advocacy and actions to save lives. Global drowning mortality and morbidity directly impacts more than one million people and families per year. drowning disproportionately affects children, low income and less adaptive populations. research and surveys continually show us that drowning has reached epidemic proportions in many Asian countries and is the leading killer of children in those nations. the un Millennium development Goal #4 to reduce child mortality will not be achieved until there is a substantial reduction in Asian child drowning mortality. By working together and using the World Conference on drowning Prevention as a stepping stone, we can stem the tide of this global drowning epidemic. We can discover and implement culturally sensitive drowning prevention strategies that reduce the global burden and family tragedy of drowning. Armed with the results of this conference and with the Conference declaration for Global drowning Prevention, we will have a detailed blueprint that will equip all collaborative drowning prevention partners to reduce the global burden of drowning. By empowering communities with evidence – based interventions, many thousands of lives will be saved from drowning and other injuries—now and in the future. this conference has brought together the world’s leading researchers, experts, practitioners and policy makers in the drowning prevention sectors—the right people to advise governments, assist communities and aid people in the prevention of drowning. We value and respect learning about new information, innovative interventions and scaling up evidence based efforts to immunize all nations of the world against drowning. this conference also seeks to ensure best practice in lifeguarding and rescue standards, aquatic risk management, medical treatment and the continuing development of lifesaving as a sport. drowning is major global public health issue. We need to work together to prevent drowning in all nations of the world. We will strive to learn and act respectfully to create opportunities for knowledge sharing and action plans that will save many lives. that drowning is a global issue is reflected by the attendance at this conference by Her excellency, Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. I gratefully acknowledge Her excellency and her work as Patron of royal Life Saving Society – Australia, a member organisation of the International Life Saving federation. I also wish to acknowledge Madam Kim ngan, Minister for Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. the work of the Vietnamese Government in tackling child drowning—an issue that is devastating the people of Vietnam—has been inspiring to all of us working in life saving and drowning prevention. I thank the Minister and the Vietnamese Government for welcoming us and for granting us the opportunity to hold the World Conference on drowning Prevention in their beautiful country. the World Conference on drowning Prevention 2011 is an inspirational learning and sharing opportunity. I thank you for joining us. We hope you will stay connected to your ILS family. We need your knowledge and skills to deliver the global reduction of drowning. Dr Steve Beerman President, International Life saving Federation 4 WorLd ConferenCe on droWnInG PreVentIon 2011 the Ministry of labour, invalids and social affairs (MoLISA) We all know, the issue of child death from drowning does not only take away the right to survival and children’s lives, affecting every family, but also creates a burden to the society. It is time for the whole society, all ministries and agencies to have a strong commitment and more decisive actions. Particularly, strengthening the cooperation of ministries at the central level, the leadership of local authorities on drowning prevention, protection and safety for children becomes more urgent than ever, in order to help our children live and grow up in a safe and healthy environment. this World Conference on drowning Prevention in da nang, co-hosted by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the royal Life Saving Society – Australia (rLSSA), the Alliance for Safe Children (tASC), unICef, and WHo, is part of the claim of the Vietnam’s Government in reducing child drowning. We express our gratitude to the International Life Saving federation and the Australian Government for supporting drowning prevention in Vietnam. Madam Kim Ngan minister of moLIsa-VN Government of Vietnam Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs the World conference on drowning Prevention 2011 organisers would like to acknowledge the Vietnamese organising committee. the committee members are: mr Nguyen trong an deputy director, Child Care and Protection department, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) mr Jonathon Passmore team Leader, non-Communicable disease & Health Promotion, WHo Viet nam mr Nguyen Phuong Nam Project officer, non-Communicable disease & Health Promotion, WHo Viet nam ms Nguyen thi thanh an Child Injury Prevention Specialist, Child Survival and development Programme, unICef Viet nam BuILdInG A GLoBAL PLAtforM to reduCe droWnInG 5 royal life saving society - australia on behalf of the Board and Members of royal Life Saving Society – Australia, it is my honour to welcome you to the World Conference on drowning Prevention 2011. Viet nam, and the province of da nang, offers a beautiful, diverse and rich backdrop for the serious topic of building a global platform to reduce drowning. drowning research from across Asia has shocked many in recent years; the numbers of children drowning in Viet nam alone represents a challenging scenario. In bringing the international community to Viet nam our aspiration is to illuminate the tragic scale of drowning in developing countries and to prompt a coordinated international response. As a nation with such a strong affinity with the aquatic environment, Australia is uniquely placed to play a prominent role in reducing the burden of drowning, particularly in the Asia–Pacificr egion. royal Life Saving Society – Australia is committed to providing knowledge, expertise and resources to help make a significant contribution. We wish to acknowledge the support of key contributors to this event. firstly, to the Board of the International Life Saving federation, we thank you for having thecourage to support our vision to host this event, not in Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra, but in Vietnam. We trust that this conference experience supports you in your mission to lead global advocacy to reduce drowning. to our partners, the Alliance for Safe Children, we acknowledge the significant contribution you make in helping us understand the true and complex burden of drowning in the region. We too are optimistic that our shared research into drowning interventions is showing such great potential for an effective, scalable and integrated approach to reducing drowning in Asia and beyond. to the Government of Viet nam, and specifically to Madam Kimn gan, Minister for Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs,