Swimming and water safety delivery for newly arrived Australians.

In Victoria, Australia, culturally and linguistically diverse communities are more than twice as likely to drown than their Australian-born counterparts. One explanation is the lack of feasible, community-led approaches to water safety and swimming education. A community engagement framework was used to develop and implement a 5-day pool program to teach swimming and water safety to newly arrived migrant children attending an English language school in Victoria.

Bush Nippers: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Nipper education program in regional inland Victoria, Australia.

Issue Addressed: Internationally, inland waterways are identified as leading locations for drowning. 'Nippers' programs provide coastal lifesaving and water safety knowledge and skills to children aged 5-14 years in Australia. However, a 49% increase in Victorian inland waterway drowning compared with the 10-year average, necessitated adapting the Nippers water safety program to inland regions: Bush Nippers.

Examination of a pilot intervention program to change parent supervision behaviour at Australian public swimming pools.

Issue Addressed: Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional death in children worldwide. There is limited evidence about the effectiveness of programs targeting child drowning prevention at public swimming pools. We examined the effectiveness of a public education program (Keep Watch @ Public Pools) for improving child supervision levels by parents at public swimming pools.

Epidemiology of fatal and non-fatal drowning patients attended by paramedics in Victoria, Australia.

Drowning is a major cause of injury and death worldwide. This study aims to expand the evidence in fatal and non-fatal drowning. A retrospective study was conducted to investigate fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents attended by ambulance paramedics in Victoria (Australia) from 2007 to 2012.

The influence of dance training on growth and maturation of young females: a mixed longitudinal study.

Background: The effects of systematic sports training during childhood and adolescence on subsequent growth and sexual maturation remains in dispute.

Aim: The study aimed to determine whether moderate-high volumes of dance training adversely influence linear growth and sexual maturation of young girls progressing through puberty.

Subjects And Methods: This 3-year mixed longitudinal study comprised 82 novice dancers and 61 controls, aged 8-11 years at baseline, who were assessed bi-annually for 3 consecutive years.