Development of a Model to Promote Drowning Prevention Literacy among Caregivers and Children Aged 3–5 Years

Abstract

Drowning is a major threat to child health and a leading cause of premature mortality, despite being a preventable event. This research and development (R&D) study aimed to: (1) examine factors associated with drowning prevention in children aged 3–5 year, (2) develop a health literacy promotion model, and (3) evaluate the developed model’s effectiveness. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 investigated drowning prevention factors among children aged 3–5 years using a researcher-developed questionnaire. Phase 2 developed the health literacy promotion model based on expert consultation and pilot testing. Phase 3 evaluated model’s effectiveness through a quasi-experimental design with 34 participants per group. The experimental group participated in a four-session program during four weeks. Data were collected using questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze general characteristics of participants. The Chi-square test was employed to examine the relationship between variables, while independent t-test, paired t-test and McNemar test were used to compare the results within groups and between the experimental and comparison groups. 

            The results of Phase 1 revealed that personal factors including education level, occupation, and income sufficiency, environmental factors and parental/caregiver factors were significantly associated with children’s drowning prevention skills (p < 0.05). Phase 2, the developed model consisting knowledge provision, demonstration, knowledge exchange, simulated scenarios, and practical training. Phase 3, the developed model was effective. The mean health literacy score of the experimental group increased from 11.53 to 15.09, significantly higher than that of the comparison group (p < 0.001). The children’s drowning prevention skills in the experimental group improved from 26.47% to 67.65%, better than those of the comparison group. Meanwhile, participants’ satisfaction with the developed model was reported to be at a high level (mean = 4.41, S.D. = 0.75). In conclusion, the health literacy promotion program for drowning prevention was found to be feasible and effective in enhancing caregivers’ health literacy and skills, as well as improving drowning prevention skills among children aged 3–5 years.