PW 1649 Drowning prevention campaigns, do they really work?

Introduction According with World Health Organization, (WHO, 2014), at least 37 000 people die each year by drowning in Europe, being the second cause of death among children from 5 to 14 years. Deaths that, in many cases, are caused by imprudence or even by lack of awareness about dangers of the aquatic environment which could be avoided taking measures to prevent this kind of accident. However, and despite the fact that many of these deaths could be avoided, there are no initiatives from the administration to prevent them and in many cases, private organizations are who carry out this task with poor resources. Objectives To Know the most used kinds of drowning prevention campaigns. To identify those types of campaigns more effective in order to maximize resources. To reach the highest percentage of the population effectively. Methods For more than 50 years the Royal Spanish Lifesaving Federation has carried out different kinds of campaigns to prevent accidents in aquatic environment, campaigns with face-to-face activities, which do not reach the desired percentage of population, and dissemination activities through social networks which increases exponentially the people reached. Results Although practical activities are more effective than those which only give tips about how to act in aquatic environment, there are many examples in which this kind of activities have saved the live of several people and have changed attitudes and population behaviour facing aquatic environment. Conclusions Dissemination activities through social networks are shown as an useful and effective resource to raise awareness among the population about dangers of aquatic environment and how to act facing a possible emergency.