RESIDENTIAL SWIMMING POOL CHILD PROTECTIVE SYSTEM

DROWNING IS A LEADING CAUSE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH TO CHILDREN UNDER FIVE; TWO-THIRDS OF THESE DEATHS OCCUR IN HOME SWIMMING POOLS. TWO RECENT MAJOR REPORTS (SEDNEY ET AL., 1987; PRESENT, 1987) HAVE FURTHERED UNDERSTANDING OF THE SAFETY PROBLEM. TYPICAL ACCIDENT SCENARIOS ARE POTENTIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO A VARIETY OF SAFETY INTERVENTION STRATEGIES, BOTH IN HARDWARE AND BEHAVIORALLY. NO CURRENTLY AVAILABLE DEVICES OR TECHNIQUES ADEQUATELY INSURE SAFETY. IDEAS OR PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN PROMOTED SUFFER LIMITATIONS AND SERIOUS QUESTIONS. HARDWARE DESIGN RELATED TO POOL SAFETY (E.G., GATES, LATCHES, ALARMS, COVERS) OFTEN DISREGARDS CHILD BEHAVIOR AND ABILITIES, OR ADULT USE/MIS-USE. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO REDUCE POOL DROWNINGS AND NEAR-DROWNINGS BY DEVELOPING AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF SAFETY MEASURES. AS A SYSTEM, IT WILL PROVIDE REDUNDANT LAYERS OF PROTECTION. SYSTEM COMPONENTS WILL BE SELECTED OR DESIGNED TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE ABILITIES AND BEHAVIOR OF BOTHCHILDREN AND ADULT USERS. PHASE 1 WILL CRITICALLY REVIEW AND ASSESS KNOWLEDGE, STRATEGIES, AND HARDWARE RELATED TO THE PROBLEM. IT WILL DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE PROTECTIVE SYSTEM STRATEGIES, AND IDENTIFY KEY RESEARCH NEEDS. RESEARCH STUDY PLANS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND SOME PILOTING WILL BE DONE. PHASE 2 WILL INVOLVE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION TO DEVELOP THE FINAL POOL PROTECTIVE SYSTEM.